Another Chance at Life
by burmafrd
Summary: AU.The buildup to Operation Roundhammer takes an unexpected turn. Inspired somewhat by M.Wheels Literary Giants. All due honor to the creators of this universe; this of course is just some fun.


Tyrus Cassius McQueen, Col., United States Marine Corps, assessed the situation. It was going to take very careful planning to get out of this trap. All his knowledge of military tactics, all his experience over the years, would probably be barely enough.

"Daddy, why can't I go with you?" Joshua asked. "I am 7, now, and that is old enough to keep watch for a while, and old enough to sound an alarm if I need to."

McQueen inwardly groaned. That was one drawback about having your children with a very smart mother; they quickly grew up and challenged you. If you did your job well, it always came back to haunt you.

"Joshua, I know you have learned a lot and are growing up, but you are not yet old enough for this"

McQueen said, hoping his natural authority as father and older adult would suffice.

It didn't.

"Why not?" asked Joshua. Sometimes the 'why' questions could really get tough.

"You are old enough to keep watch at home with someone older around- you are not old enough to be somewhere else without someone older around. Up there you would be alone while I went out and hunted- and you know why you are not old enough for that. And that is just the way it is- you will have to wait until you are older." McQueen reasoned-hoping pure logic would work this time.

It did- this time.

"OK" said Joshua, clearly disappointed.

"Now head for home and let your mother know I will be home either tomorrow night or the morning after. " McQueen said, using his 'command' voice.

"right, Daddy." said Joshua, understanding the argument was over.

McQueen shouldered his pack, making sure his rifle was locked and loaded, safety on, before he turned and headed up the mountain.

Joshua watched until he was out of sight, then headed for home.

McQueen loved the woods- the tall trees never failed to make an impression. Being 'tanked' at Draconius, a hellish world without much vegetation and no trees at all, he had early on after leaving there grown to appreciate woods and forests. And Catonius 3 was a very heavily wooded world. With only about 25% water, the rest in 5 large continents, there was a lot of land on the planet. About 10% bigger then earth, but with more then 3 times as much solid land, the choices for a landing area were numerous. The climate was very similar to earth, distance to the star was almost the same, even the star was close to Sol in size and brightness. The tilt of the planet was also just about identical. The only differences to earth was the extra size, much more landmass, and a somewhat more extreme climate overall- the fallout of not having anywhere near as much water to serve as both reservoir for heat in winter and as a heat sink in summer. That made the winters colder and the summers hotter- even nearer the equator. Where they were located was about the most temperate part of the planet- but temperate was somewhat of a misleading feature for a planet that could get down to –40 to +40 quite often during the peaks of summer and depths of winter. One good thing about a climate like that, as well as being relatively dry, was that the insect population was much less. There were quite a variety of animals, including those he would be hunting. Many of them were somewhat analogous to earth type animals of the grazing, meat eating, aquatic types. He had no ideal what was in the one large ocean, but the bigger streams and rivers around the immediate vicinity were well stocked with fish that were pretty tasty, if somewhat weird looking. Another interesting thing about this world was that while the ocean was not big and the land mass was much greater then earth, the number of bodies of water and streams and rivers seemed to have been increased as if in partial recompense. The soil was quite rich, and virtually anything planted grew well. That had been a good thing- even better was the shuttle had been carrying supplies and seed and such for an outpost on a fairly similar world when they had run into the Chigs.

As he slowly and carefully made his way up the mountain to the hunting cabin that he had built 3 years ago, McQueen remembered the beginning of it all.

"Col McQueen, since we can no longer consider Operation Roundhammer viable, due to security concerns, it was decided by the UN High Command to go to the backup plan, Operation Anvil. This operation counts less on surprise and more on misdirection. Your orders are to take the command plans to a new outpost on Secondar 2, where the command ships will rendezvous one at a time over the next month. The concept is relatively simple- make the Chigs think we are doing Roundhammer, which we are pretty sure they have enough details to figure out the goals due to the AI's, but then coming at them from a totally different direction. The cover for your trip is a supply drop; we will substitute the crew for yourself and the other person coming with you. As far as everyone else knows, you will be heading out to an inspection on our base on Renedius. You will be leaving tomorrow." General Radford, sat back, for a moment relaxing his command face. "To be honest, Col, I never liked Roundhammer anyway. It was too much based on catching the Chigs by surprise, and I always thought that that is a mistake on any major operation. With your knowledge of Military History, I imagine you could come up with several examples." McQueen nodded. "Probably the best example, sir, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's attempt to take Midway during WW2. It was totally based on surprise that they never had, due to the US's code breaking crew. That was something that worried me about Roundhammer as well- history was NOT on our side." Radford soberly agreed. "the parallels here are a little too close for comfort.A superior – at least in strength, anyway- fleet attacking an enemy that they have had on the run for a while. Very confident that they have the upper hand and that this operation will probably end the war.

An enemy desperate and driven back, but very ingenious and willing to take chances. And one that has some very formidable intelligence capabilities. yes, the way Roundhammer resembles Operation MI has always worried me." Radford grinned at McQueens slight look of surprise. "At the academy during my time as a strategic operation's student when I got my first star, we studied Midway. the resemblance in so many ways to that operation always had me worried about Roundhammer. By contrast, Anvil is actually less complicated and more based on sound planning and maneuvering then surprise. It will be easier and work better if we get it, but it should still work if we don't." Radford checked his watch. "time for you to get going, Col. We have to keep this short just in case someone is watching and keeping track of your movements here on earth. Short meetings are not thought to be very important."

As he left the building and got into his chauffeured car, McQueen realized that he had forgotten to ask the general who was going with him. Thinking about it, he had a feeling the general deliberately made sure he did not have time to ask. Probably some staff weenie, McQueen groaned inwardly.

It took over 3 weeks to reach the Saratoga, and during that time McQueen still had not found out who was going with him. He now definitely thought that it was being kept from him to prevent a very emphatic disagreement on his part. He had tried to think of who it could be that they were so worried about him protesting and kicking up a storm, but he kept coming up blank. At least he would be able to see the 58th again; or at least what was left of it. Paul Wang's death still hurt. The core of the 58th had been through so much and had always made it back, that his death really had an impact. the return of two of the older 58th pilots from injury leave still did not make up for Paul's loss. Vansen was still doing a good job as CO, and he was glad that her promotion as Major had come through in time for him to pull enough strings to get her appointed. West's promotion to captain had come through at the same time, so he was now her XO. McQueen's brow furrowed a little while thinking about West. He had gotten a short letter from him talking about the end of the engagement with Kylen. That had startled McQueen; though once he thought about it he could see that it was inevitable. Kylen's time as a POW/hostage/mine worker-slave had changed her; just as West's time as a Marine had changed him. Too much change in too short a time, added to their time apart, and it made a sad sort of sense. Hopefully he was hanging in there; otherwise he was toast. Combat killed you easily enough without distractions; with them and the 6 X 2 farm was right around the corner. During his short time on Earth, he had been unable to arrange to see Kylen, who was apparently one of those hard at work on Anvil. He hoped she was doing OK, but since she was no where near the combat zone at least she had some leeway if she got distracted. though he doubted she would- Kylen Celina was a very level headed young woman, and her ability to roll with the punches had saved her life on numerous occasions as a prisoner of the Chigs and AI's.

As he got out of the shuttle, he saw the Wildcards waiting for him. In formation, very tight. He walked up to them, returned their salute, then spent a moment looking them over. They all looked pretty solid; even the two returnees looked OK. "At ease, 58th". They loosened up, and Vansen stepped forward.

"Welcome back to the 'Toga', Col". McQueen shook her hand, then the rest of them. Then a Lt he vaguely remembered from the bridge stepped forward and saluted. "Sir. Commodore Ross's complements and would the Col please follow me to the briefing room. The Commodore also wants to announce that a wetting down party for the Col's promotion will be held in the Tung at 1900."

McQueen nodded at him, then turned and gave Vansen a look she correctly interpreted. "Col, the Wildcards will be there." "Carry on, Major" stated McQueen, then followed the LT.

The briefing did not take long. There was nothing new going on in the sector, and McQueen was constrained by security concerns from telling Ross much about Anvil. The cover story about Roundhammer being delayed not canceled was still in effect. After some small talk and catching up on other then operational concerns, McQueen then pinned Ross with his concern about the Wildcards.

"Just how HAVE they been doing, Glen?" Ross looked thoughtful. "As far as I can tell OK. the two returnees apparently are mixing in well, and Vansen is doing fine as the CO. West is very good at the paperwork- which was Vansens real weakness- so that is looking better then it has in a while. Operationally, they appear to be OK." McQueen nodded. "Anything looking like a problem outside of paperwork and operations?" He probed. "Not as far as I can tell, and I have not heard anything."

Ross stated. "Good" mumbled McQueen. "The shuttle is ready to go- all the supplies came in last week so no problems there. It is quite an unusual mix- seeds, farming equipment, building materials, etc. Jam packed with what looks like a colonists dream list. I guess they are trying to terraform that planet the outpost is on- starting small, but hoping for the best. Makes sense- if they can grow their own food and such, it makes for fewer supply runs. They even have some cryo stored eggs for chickens. I imagine in a while we will get some pigs and cattle as well. Ol McDonald in outer space." McQueen chuckled.

"The other person coming in is due in tonight- they are cutting THAT a little close. I do not have a name for whoever it is- I take it from your expression you still don't know as well?" McQueen grimaced. "No, and I have a hunch it is someone that I would have put up quite a stink about coming along, which is why no one has told me. I have tried to think of who I dislike enough, or who of the possible candidates that I might dislike enough, but I keep coming up with a blank. Considering how few know about the operation at all, this really has me puzzled." Ross nodded. "well, you will find out in about 2 hrs. Whoever is it is due in right about the same time as your wet down party starts in the Tung."

The military puts such a store about being precise, so it was no surprise that the wetting down party for Col TC McQueens promotion started on the dot at 1900. The traditional salute part did not last long, then everyone got down to the serious drinking. McQueen sat at his traditional table with the Wildcards, and at that moment felt pretty good. The identity of the other rider still nagged at him, but back in the Toga with Ross and the Wildcards felt like coming home; this is where he belonged, not behind a desk somewhere. He watched as Cooper tried not to make his interest in Vansen clear, though that was an open secret with the Wildcards. As long as nothing happened in public, it was not a concern. Phouse seemed to have recovered well from the ordeal of the rescue of the colonists, and appeared to be getting over the loss of Wang, to whom she had been particularly close. Vansen was doing a good job of being part of them while keeping the necessary distance a CO needed. One of the returnees, Roland, was looking quite comfortable, while the other, who he had forgotten resembled Kelly Winslow quite a bit, seemed a little nervous. Then he caught a look thrown her way by West. AHA, he thought; that is the way the wind blows. This explained why West seemed to be a little on edge; he appeared to be in the beginning of something with Thompson. Nathan, I think you may have traded down a little. Kylen is such a extraordinary woman that just about anyone else would be a move down. Thompson seemed ok, and appeared to be a quiet, but friendly type. McQueen thought about it a little, then nodded to himself. I wonder how long Nathan felt he was trying to catch up with Kylen? She was brilliant, and maybe that was a problem. Some men have a problem with women being a lot smarter. West was no dummy by a long shot, but Kylen was extremely bright, sharp and will read. A shame, he thought, and realized that he was feeling more sympathy for Kylen then West. He examined that, and realized that all the time he had spent during his rehab with Kylen staying there really meant that he knew her better then he had ever known West. He knew from West's letter that the breakup had been Nathan's idea, but that Kylen had agreed. He wondered how much of that was pride and an unwillingness to cause any pain, and agreement that they really did not belong together any more. Thinking about it when he first found out, McQueen realized that the only question had been when they would call it quits, not if. I really doubt that Kylen would have taken that step, not wanting to cause pain was a large part of her personality makeup. But I think she probably is relieved, if saddened. If the whole war had not come about, would they have stayed together, McQueen wondered. One will never know.

The shuttle smoothly landed, then shut down its engines. The main hatch opened, and the Lt that had earlier in the day welcomed McQueen waited for its loan passenger. Well, passenger and escorts, he thought. What the passenger was carrying was highly classified, and armed escorts were an absolute any more. The AI's abilities to find things out and grab couriers had been proven too many times to discount. No one knew the ID of the passenger, but that was not really that surprising. Those people are supposed to be low profile and not attract attention. Which is not the case here, he thought with considerable surprise as the passenger stepped out, followed by the guards. She was fairly small, blond and very good looking. She was also a civilian, or at least in civilian clothes. Chained to her wrist was the standard courier briefcase, built to withstand a lot but to also incinerate its contents without endangering the immediate surroundings if someone tried to tamper with it. She looked around for a minute, looking quite calm, spotted him and moved forward. "I take it you are waiting for me, LT" her voice was a pleasant contralto. The LT nodded to her. "Yes, Ma'am. I will take you to the Commodore's briefing room – the Commodore will be along in a little while." She nodded to him and followed- the guards right behind her.

Commodore Ross headed towards the briefing room. Ty would be along in a few minutes once he is finished interrogating the Wildcards and summing them up, he chuckled to himself. At least now I get to find out who the mysterious other person is. The two guards, in addition to the usual Marine Guards were on post outside of the hatch. He nodded to them and stepped through the hatch that one of the Marines opened for him. Inside was his Flag Lt and the other… OH nuts. NOW I know why they kept it secret. Ty is going to have not just a cow, but the whole herd.

McQueen made his way to the briefing room. Well, now I finally will find out why they kept it from me. Have to admit they did a good job- I have absolutely no idea of who I will find as I step through the hatch. He nodded to the Marines and the guards- he noted that they were Fleet Marine guards, the best of the best. That further underlined the importance of what the courier/rider/whatever was carrying.

As he stepped through the hatch he recognized Ross's Flag Lt, Ross, and….

"What the HELL?" came out the hatch just before it was closed. The guards and the Marines looked at each other and shrugged. the workings of the brass were always a mystery.

McQueen for one of the very few times in his life was both stunned and speechless, and then he got mad. "What the Hell?" was his first comment. Ross looked at him. "Ty, get a grip. this is almost as big a shock to me as you- but that is the way it is." McQueen closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at the courier. "Mind telling me who the bright idea came from for this whole mess?"

Kylen Celina looked him right in the eye. "It was mine, to be technical. General Radford caught on right away, and General Boyington was not far behind. The cover for this mission is supplies and equipment to make an outpost capable of making its own food supply and therefore needing less support and a lot fewer supply runs. Who better to go along then a former colonist. To advise and help out. My name was just left out. Since the AI's and the Chigs know me, but only really by name, for all intents and purposes, it should work. I was qualified, had the proper security clearance, and it would help out with the cover story. Officially I will be under the name of one of the other colonists that got back, but has no other connection with the government or anyone else. Just someone who had not yet gotten her fill of space and colonizing. As long as no one else finds out who I am, it should work."

McQueen looked her in the eye. "Why?" he bit out. She looked right back. "I wanted to do more then paperwork and run papers from meeting to meeting at the Pentagon. This way I can get some payback for what I and the others went through. This way I can really put a sharp stick in the eye of the Chigs and the AI's." Kylen sighed. "I knew you would have a fit; and both Radford and Boyington agreed that we needed to keep my ID a secret as long as possible, using the other name all the way here. So it worked out. Its way too late for you to do anything about it but go along. Now shall we get down to business? We do have a war to fight, remember?" she couldn't help the jab. The tension, long trip, and this had her at the limits of her patience, even with him.

Ross decided to head this off before it got any worse. "Col, she is right. Nothing to do now but move along. And the cover story is a good one- a former colonist, as long as no one knows its her, makes it all the better." McQueen reluctantly nodded. " I guess it does- but that does NOT mean I like it."

Ross chuckled. "I think we all know that. Miss Celina, can you start?"

Kylen slowly let out the breath she had been holding. At least the first meeting is going fairly well. Now If I can just avoid running into Nathan or the rest of the 58th before I leave, security should stay tight.

Kylen then began the part of the briefing that had been approved for the moment- before the main briefing that would happen in one week. "Operation Anvil will take Tellis back from the Chigs; after our last victory, they really need to keep Tellis since that appears to be their last source of Sewel Fuel; as far as we know, there are only two planets that have them, and if we take Tellis we will have both of them.

The 3rd Fleet will strike from where they are currently in holding position, followed by the 5th fleet two days later, in order to give the Chigs time to deploy their reserves before we hit them with our Sunday punch. That is all that can be said at this time. More details will come out at the main briefing."

Ross nodded- he already liked this operation a whole lot more then Roundhammer, which he thought had been way too ambitious and way too dependent on surprise. He knew that McQueen had had the same reservations. "I have a cabin ready for you on the command deck, Miss Celina. It should give you a chance to get some sleep." Kylen grimaced for a moment. "If its OK with you, sir, I would just as soon catch a few winks here and then go straight to the shuttle; or go to the shuttle now and sack out there in the back. Either way it would be better then moving any more around the Saratoga then I absolutely have to." Ross frowned for a moment. She made sense as regards not being seen- he thought of the Wildcards- yes definitely. But if she goes to the shuttle now we have to leave the guards there and that blows the security = so its better if she stays here. There was actually an old fashioned sofa in the corner of the briefing room- no one knew where it came from but it had always been there. They can leave the guards on the hatch and no one will be the wiser. "OK, then staying here is best- the sofa should allow you to get some sleep. Then you can catch a quick shower and change just before you leave. There are facilities right in the next room." Kylen nodded. "If someone will get my bag from the shuttle and bring it here, that will be fine." Ross nodded and got up with the LT. He looked at McQueen, sighed, and bowed to the inevitable. "Ty, try and not give her too hard a time." was all he said as he left the room.

McQueen took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Kylen silently watched him. After a few moments, he asked her: "why?" Kylen just as quietly said "Because I needed to do more. I know I was contributing where I was, but it just did not seem enough. I realized that I wanted to do more. And being out here, in space, not far from Tellis and everything else, also gave me a chance to face my nightmares. Too put it crudely, a chance to give the finger to the Chigs, the AI's, AEROTECH and everyone else that tore pieces out of me and stomped on them. A ringside seat to watch them get really hurt. Maybe a chance to see the end of the war." Kylen sat back and sighed. "that's the best I can do."

McQueen thought about it. It made sense, and knowing Kylen, seemed to be almost inevitable. "Maybe this is what worried me when you first mentioned the job. I thought at the time that you were wanting some payback; but that it was only part of the reason. Now I see that it was more of the reason then I thought; and unless I miss my guess, more then you thought as well, at least at that time."

Kylen looked thoughtful. "You might be right about that; but at that time I did not imagine coming back out here- that I can tell you for sure. Its only been in the last few months that I realized that I NEEDED to come back out here and face the nightmares; or that I might never be able to really get past them. When I got back to earth, I never thought I would want to leave it ever again. I still don't want to spend years out here- there is no way I will ever sign up for anything like that ever again. But for a short period of time- for this- then I do want to be here."

McQueen nodded. Made sense again, and she certainly believed it. Oh well. Then he decided to bring up the other reason. "What about Nathan?" Did she look upon this trip as a chance to patch things up; if so, how did he tell her that it looked like he had already started to move on. Kylen shook her head. "that is over- this is not a backdoor way to get him back. If anything I want to avoid seeing him if I can. Its just too uncomfortable right now; and with everything else going on I just do not want to deal with it.

We will always be friends; we will have our memories of the time we were together. And they were good times, pretty much. If the war had not happened we probably would have stayed together- though the whole thing with him Joining the Marines as a way to get out here = if you look at it logically- was pretty stupid. The chances of him getting anywhere near Tellis had to be astronomically small. Odds are this war did us a favor; we might have tried to hold onto something that was never meant to be. Some things are fine in a greenhouse; but put them outside in the real weather and they wilt. If we had both stayed on Tellis… I don't know. We both changed so much because of what happened to us. Nathan never had any interest in the military; yet I think he has found his place in the Corps. It would not surprise me to see him stay on after the war. Myself; I have no idea what I will do once the war is over. Being a paper pushing civilian working for the Corps does not thrill me; its necessary in the here and now but after… I do not even know what I want to do- except I know that – as I said- the colonizing part is totally off the board. I never want to be out there at the far end of things, vulnerable to whatever comes along and no way to fight back. I never want to feel that helpless again."

McQueen leaned back and sighed. What she said about West actually made sense; he had pretty much thought that as soon as the war was over West would be on the first bus out the gate; now, he was not sure at all. He had adapted well, and was doing very well. If he survived long enough, if the war lasted long enough, he would get his own squadron. What Kylen said about herself- he could see it. He also thought that while colonizing is pretty demanding and hard work, that it would no longer be enough of a challenge by itself for her. Her horizons had expanded; he knew that she wanted a lot more out of like then she did before. Almost losing it, the time as a prisoner, semi-slave and forced mine worker had made her tougher and more demanding of life. In payment for what she lost, she wanted more then ever before. Now, should he tell her about Nathan and what looked to be like the beginning of something with Thompson? He decided that she needed to know, just so that she was not blindsided.

"Kylen, there is something you need to know about Nathan." He started and then stopped. How do you say this? He was trying to form the words when she said "He has found someone else, hasn't he? And I bet its another pilot? " Kylen said quietly. He nodded. Then "I am not totally sure, but it looks that way. She is one of the returnees from the original 58th." "What is she like? Will she treat him well?" Kylen clearly wanted to believe that Nathan was doing ok. He was glad that he did not have to lie; not that he thought he could fool her anyway. "I think she is ok. A little quiet, but friendly and a good pilot."

Kylen smiled at that. Of course being a good pilot factored into how McQueen thought of her. Once a pilot, always a pilot. At that the hatch opened and the Flag LT appeared with her bag.

McQueen was thoughtful as he walked back to his quarters; he thought about heading to see Ross, but they had had a long talk that afternoon so catching up was no longer needed. He had some things to think about anyway. He really was not comfortable with Kylen coming along; this was the war zone and things could happen no matter how careful you were. But at least he would have a friend to talk to.

Remembering some of their conversations at the clinic while he was rehabbing, he knew he would be looking forward to those talks.

Kylen had decided to get some sleep right away if possible. So she locked the hatch on her side; and the other hatch that went into the corridor on the other side; she would not have far to go to take a shower in the morning. She was glad that the confrontation with McQueen had not gone badly; he seemed to get her point and while he might not agree with her reasons for being out here, he understood them and respected them. That was what mattered. Now she just hoped that she could avoid Nathan and get some sleep. Those were her last thoughts before she drifted off, lulled by the steady thrum that was the heartbeat of the ship.

Kylen was waiting in the briefing room for the Flat Lt and her escorts. It had been agreed that she would stay there until just before the shuttle was due to leave. It had been arranged for several shuttles to leave at the same time; with all the commotion it should be easier to hide the switch out of the crew – who would be leaving as passengers on one of the other shuttles. Hopefully no one would notice a thing.

She was wearing a flight officers uniform- considered necessary for her to blend in. The briefcase was covered up by her flight bag and a small jacket wrapped around it. Her escorts were in flight deck tech uniforms with weapons hidden. It would look like a small group of techs escorting a flight officer to her ship- not unusual for the Saratoga was so big that it was easy to get lost if you were new to a fleet carrier. The quick knock on the hatch and she opened it up and stepped out. Moving down the corridors she made it a point not to either look right at anyone or to make it a point of not looking at anyone. One of the things taught at the self defense and courier courses was how to remain inconspicuous while moving through a crowd. The only thing that worried Kylen was running into Nathan or any of the rest of the Wildcards. She knew that McQueen would make sure that they were busy elsewhere, but you never knew what monkey wrench could come flying into sight and mess everything up. It seemed luck was with her as they reached the shuttle bay. Moving neither quickly nor slowly Kylen walked up to the shuttle and moved into it. She looked into the cockpit and found McQueen already there. She tossed her bag into the flight area luggage rack and closed it. The briefcase still on her wrist, she stepped into the cockpit.

McQueen supposed that he would never get used to flying anything but a fighter; what he had told Kylen a long time ago about there being only two kinds of planes- fighters and targets- held true to this day. He was flying a target and that was that. Sure, it was armed, but that was something of a joke since while the cargo bay guns could help out, any Chig fighter that found them would have no problem at all blowing them to hell. Unless he was a total new nugget and careless to boot, he could not miss. He was checking out the controls and doing the pre flight when he heard someone step into the cockpit. He knew it was Kylen but he looked over his shoulder to make sure. She was dressed as a flight officer, and was carrying that damn briefcase. He really wished they could take it off, but that was against regs until she reached the final destination. She sat down in the co pilots seat, with the briefcase luckily sitting where it would not get in the way. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked. McQueen thought about it for a moment, then handed her the checklist. "Read this out to me, starting from #8." She took the list and started to read- slowly but not too slowly, and she waited for his confirmation before continuing on. There were a couple of switches to throw that she had to do since they were on her side of the cockpit- while flying was not a problem for just one man, the pre flight really needed two or the pilot had to keep moving around.

Kylen had never been in the cockpit of any ship or plane; she was amazed at how many dials, switches, panels, etc there were. She remembered something that she needed to tell McQueen. But before she could say anything, he told her to secure the hatch- just close it and lock it and wait for the green light on the panel next to the door to tell her that it was secured. She did that and returned. He was in contact with Flight Control, and asking permission to leave. It was granted, they were #3 to leave. Kylen waited a moment, then said." Just to let you know, before I left I asked to be checked out for firing the cargo bay guns and I did pretty good on the simulator, which surprised me a little because I was never into video or computer games." McQueen looked at her with his eyebrow raised. She grinned at him"I know, not like it will do us any good of a squadron of Chigs show up, but I wanted you to know that I was not a complete disaster as the other part of your crew." McQueen shook his head a little, and said"I should of known that you would do your homework- you never fail to be prepared. That was a good idea; you never know what you learn and when it might come in handy."

As the shuttle took off, watching from the Flight Control room, Commodore Ross said to himself.  
"good luck, Ty. Hopefully this is a milk run" He really wanted to send a squadron to escort the shuttle, but that would draw attention and that was what the whole operation was about- to be inconspicuous.

However, he could send out patrols that would cover the area the shuttle was moving through. At least until they left the system far behind they could track it on sensors.

Kylen watched as McQueen flew the shuttle. She knew that he was used to flying ships that had a whole lot more get up and go then this glorified truck did. Curious, she asked "Would you rather be a passenger or does any kind of flying make it better?" McQueen looked at her and smiled. "Yes, I would rather fly then ride- even a crate like this. I think it is more that I can keep busy, though, since this is NOT a challenge to fly. Its not quite true that a real pilot could fly something like this in their sleep- but that is not that much of an exaggeration." Kylen decided to ask him to describe it in detail- not just flying but the area and such. She asked him if that would be a bother; McQueen smiled and said that it would keep him from getting bored and falling asleep at the controls. They both laughed a little at that, she out loud and he to himself.

They were were more then halfway to the outpost and passing a system that had a blue giant as a star; these systems were rare- they never had any planets due the tremendous pull of the star- no planet ever had a chance to form. Also, due to its power, space itself tended to get a little strange. Some even had intermittent wormholes- these did not usually last longer then a few hours, but also they tended to connect other systems that were relatively close- sometimes only a 100 or so light years away. Probes sent into them indicated that they did not move around and connected to the same place- but that the interval varied from a few months to years between appearances. You could go into one, but unless you got out before it closed you could find yourself stuck there for perhaps several years before it opened again. The good news was that usually the wormholes opened for several hours, so that it was easy to go in look around and get out again. The more stable ones were easy to predict as regards how long they were open; they usually stayed about the same. This particular one- Omnicon 54- had been mapped and researched for some years. Several of its wormholes opened up in areas of interest to Earth; but outside of looking nothing else had been done; with many viable colonizable worlds close by, there just was not point. Maybe in a few hundred years, if no faster drives had been developed, a closer look might be in order.

A sudden beeping from the main sensor array startled both of them. they had been watching the Blue Giant as they went by, since it was so rare, so the noise startled them. McQueen looked- flipped a couple

of switches- then cursed quietly. Kylen had no doubt at what he had found. "Chigs?" she quietly asked- concentrating hard on controlling her voice. "One Chig anyway. I hope he is alone- that would be the only chance we have. I am heading into the blue star- we cannot outrun him and there is no way I can lose him. Good news is that he is in a patrol ship, not a fighter. Longer range, bigger, not as well armed.

If I can get close enough to the star I might be able to take him out. Get back in the bay and man the rear guns- you might be able to get a shot in. Take off that damn briefcase- regulations be damned."

Kylen nodded and took the key that was on a chain around her neck and unlocked the handcuff. She carefully wedged the briefcase so that it would not bump around- that might cause it to burn up the contents- then scrambled to get in the cargo bay and to the rear guns.

McQueen had the shuttle at max speed heading right for the blue giant. The Chig was closing on them, but they should be able to get close before he got close to them. The Gravitational pull and other things made getting close to a blue giant a very risky thing- but it was less risky then trying to outmaneuver the chig. Over the intercom came Kylens voice "OK I have the guns up and hot; I figure I will wait until he gets fairly close before I take a shot- I don't want to warn him. Let me know when is the best range to take my shot." Despite the situation . McQueen smiled. Always prepared, that was Kylen. And it just might come down to that- the Chig was right on their tale and closing. The main guns on a Chig patrol ship were not as powerful as on their fighters- not as long a range. The Cargo bay guns actually had a little more range. They could not give the Chig a free shot- too easy for a critical hit. So he was going to have to try and give Kylen the best chance possible. Straight ahead and no juking- use the range advantage and hope Kylen has beginners luck.

Strapped into the gunners seat that the rear guns had as opposed to the side guns that were stand-ups, Kylen was trying to maintain a calm demeanor. She had unlocked and powered the guns up, but had not moved them. She was hoping the Chig got careless and thought the guns were unmanned. He might stop moving around and come straight for them. She informed the Col of this and he agreed- said it was a good idea and that the Chig would be in range in a few minutes.

McQueen had to give Kylen full marks for thinking on her feet. Not moving the guns was a very smart thing to do- most gunners could not resist testing to see if they had full motion, etc even though the control panel would tell them that anyway. Not seeing the guns move, especially as he got close, might lull the chig into getting careless.

Kylen knew it was getting down to it- the chig had to be almost within range. Still too far away to see many details, other then it looked vaguely like their shuttle only slimmer and smaller. She noticed that he was not maneuvering much- not like he had been. Maybe he was getting confident that the guns were not manned and that the pilot was doing the only thing he could- get close to the blue giant and hope the chig lost interest. She looked through the gun sight. He might be getting careless but he was making sure that he was not directly in the line of fire either. BUT he was not far off of it. She would only have to move slightly.

McQueen had a good view of the Chig on his rear screen- he was not quite in the line of fire of the rear guns but he was not far off. The moment Kylen moved the guns he would move- she had to be quick to get him before he realized what had happened. Then McQueen had an idea. He called to her to be ready to fire but not to move the guns unless he told her to. She acknowledged him. He looked at the scanner, then very slightly changed course- just a little- just enough for the rear guns to be lined right on the chig. Moved a little more- just a little more- he called out to Kylen to be ready. The gun site was not on his screen so he could not be sure he was on it. He called back to Kylen to let him know just how to line up the chig without the chig realizing what was happening. Kylen then called back that she would call out the orientation as how she wanted the tail to move. He acknowledged.

Kylen was sweating badly but concentrating fully on the chig. Looking through the gun site she made the call. "Tail up slightly- hold there – down a little- hold it right there; to the port a little, good hold it" She knew the Chig was almost close enough to fire his guns. NOW was the time. Kylen squeezed the trigger.

McQueen was watching the scanner. Then he saw the flash from the guns.

Kylen could not believe it was that easy. The chig was now in a whole lot of pieces. The guns had hit him right in the nose and just blown him away. She unstrapped, turned the weapons to standby, and headed for the cockpit.

McQueen was now changing course away from the blue giant. It was taking some power but luckily they had not gotten too close. Looking at the fuel gages, though, was an unpleasant surprise.

Kylen slipped back into the cockpit, smiling at him. "Beginners luck", she said. Then she noted his grim visage. She looked out of the cockpit and saw they were heading away from the blue giant. What could the problem be. Then here eyes widened. "We used up too much fuel to make it to the outpost, right? and we do not have enough to get back to the Saratoga?" She quietly asked.

She is a little too sharp for her own good, sometimes, McQueen thought. Then dismissed it- like it really mattered. He was not going to try and snow her-she deserved it straight. "got it in one. We will have to power down and send out a distress call. If we power down we will have enough life support for 32 hours. It should only take the Toga about 12 –14 hours to get to us. BUT if we send out a distress its just a good a chance that the Chigs will come. We know they monitor all channels we use. But its not like we have any choice. We cannot get to any other system that is near enough that has an inhabitable planet on it. We will just have to make the call and hope we get lucky."

McQueen was just about to power down completely when the wormhole appeared, just on the near side of the blue giant. They stared in awe at the intricate circles and whirls and everything. McQueen queried the computer and it identified the wormhole as one of the reoccurring ones. It led to a system known as Catonius. It was a standard small yellow star- just like the Sun (Sol) and its third planet was a little bigger then earth, inhabitable, with a lot more land and a lot less ocean. Usually this wormhole stayed open for 3-3.5 hours; but it only appeared every 1-2 years; sometimes the gap was as long as 5. In the 35 years it had been tracked, it was currently on its short cycle, but the next one could be a long one.

Kylen was fascinated by the wormhole. One of natures most incredible creations, on a cosmic scale.

She looked at McQueen, who was as awestruck as she was. She smiled; good to know that he could be awed as well. "Tempted to go take a look?" she asked. He looked at her, smiled slightly. " A little- but there is a good chance that it would not be open for 5 years. That's a bit long for me." She smiled back and was about to ask how long would he like to go when the sensor panel beeped.

McQueen looked at the readout and gritted his teeth. No doubt about it- chigs- and several of them. Almost certainly fighters. Probably the patrol ship had sent a message and they were coming because he had not reported back. McQueen had hoped that they were farther away then they apparently were. They must have a carrier nearby- their nearest base was far out of range of a fighter. He looked over at Kylen. Then he looked at the wormhole. It was their only shot. It would be almost 10 hrs before a shuttle from the Saratoga could get here. Those chigs would be here in less then half an hour. He looked over at Kylen and she was looking at the wormhole-then she turned to him. "Looks like you get to see it anyway, Six" using the nickname she had given him at the clinic. "5 years, Kylen, and maybe longer."

She looked back at him. "Its a chance to live, six, versus almost certain death." He nodded. and powered up the engines. He doubted the chigs would have spotted them yet. From the angle they were coming in, their shorter range sensors would be interfered with by both the blue giant and the wormhole. Not that it was likely they would go through it in pursuit anyway- they probably knew enough about it from the data the AI's had gotten to them, but you never knew. Keeping a low power setting that would get them into the wormhole pretty quick, but conserve fuel and leave a less obvious trail, he headed there. Then he sent a short message back to the Saratoga: "Chig fighters closing. Wormhole to Catonius open. going through. McQueen." Then they were in the wormhole.

Kylen would remember it as being almost like being on an old style roller coaster. Bumping and moving and swaying. It did not last long, which was a good thing as her stomach had started to rebel. It was only a few minutes and they were in the Catonius system. The wormhole spit them out right outside the system, so it took almost two hours to get to Catonius 3. McQueen took them into low orbit so they could take a good look before landing. The shuttle computer only had the basic stats on the planet; good oxygen nitrogen mix, gravity, day length, planetary norms, etc. Kylen was looking at the readouts on the sensors- looking for the best place to land. McQueen had powered down so that they had some hours to look before they had to land. They had been able to see the wormhole close and no one had come out of it after them- not that that was a surprise. So they had all the time in the world- this world, McQueen thought.

On the Saratoga Commodore Ross read the last message that Ty would send him for a long time- maybe forever. Into a wormhole and to a system over 300 light years away. A distance that would take years to travel with current ships. They had gotten a message from the wormhole itself- just before it closed- they had made it there and the chigs had not followed. At least that was good news. And by the strangest of coincidences, their shuttle had most of what they would need to survive for a long time. As soon as the message about going into the wormhole had arrived, Ross had demanded all data on Catonius and Catonius 3. It appeared to be fairly earth like, with plenty of plant and animal life. Probes sent there had been very thorough. the interval on the wormhole was anywhere from 1-2 years to over 5. It looked like the next one would be the 5 year one. If it opened then. It might never open again- or it might be a hundred years. Commodore Glen Ross swore that he would be there if it was 5 years- he would be there. Now he had the hard duty to let command know. He had sent word early on- now he had to send confirmation. Well, he thought, at least Anvil has not been compromised. With any luck at all, when the wormhole opened up, Ty would return to a part of the galaxy that was at peace again.

General Radford hated making these calls- but at least in this case the news was not too bad. He had already sent an officer to Kylen's home to talk to her father. But he felt that he needed to talk to him as well. Luckily, Kylens father was a level headed farmer, not given to emoting and raising hell about things that could not be helped. He had thanked the general for his consideration, and that he at least knew that his daughter was probably ok, just not able to come home for maybe 5-7 years. He pointed out to the general that her original contract had said she might be away as long as 12 years, so this was not too bad. The only bad thing was they would be unable to talk to her at all. The General was somewhat surprised at the calmness of Kylens father. But then after all that had happened, maybe he was just getting used to it.

General Boyington was sitting in her office looking at the data on Catonius and Catonius 3. She wanted to know where Ty McQueen was going and what it was like. It looked like it would not be too bad. But just the two of them there for maybe 5 years, and maybe longer. The star charts said that it would, if it followed the pattern of the last 35 years, open in about 5.6 years- 5 years, 7 months or so. And then it would probably open again in 2 years, then 1 year 6 months; then a little less then a year, then 1 year 6 months; then 2 years, then the 5.6 year again. The only problem was that the shortest interval was also the shortest the wormhole remained open. Just a little over 2 hours. At full speed, a shuttle could be too the planet and back to the wormhole in 2 hours- barely. The longest the wormhole opened was 4 hours, the opening just after the longest interval, 5.6 years. The next one would be open for almost 4 ours- 3 hrs 45 minutes. Then came the short one. Then back to 3 hrs 45 min, etc. As long as nothing changed, it was really just a very long vacation. At least that was what she hoped.

McQueen slowly brought the shuttle down to the area they had decided to settle on. It was in the most temperate zone on the planet- the one with the smallest climate swing. At least that was what they hoped. Northern part of the planet, and they were lucky as it was just the beginning of spring there.

With the supplies and equipment they had on board, they were extremely lucky. Kylen had gone over the manifest, and had marveled on how lucky they were. everything they needed to make a shelter and plant crops and even raise chickens. Added to that it looked as if there were plenty of animals to hunt and plants to check on and find out if they were edible. There was an analyzer on board that would be able to tell if any plant was edible. Kylen could not figure why that was on board since there was virtually nothing growing on that outpost that they could have tested. But they were very fortunate that it was there. Considering how lush the area was, it was doubtful that they would have any trouble growing anything.

McQueen powered down the shuttle. Not having to use life support, and with the ability to deploy solar panels, there was no reason the shuttle should have to be totally turned off. It would be their living quarters for a while anyway. McQueen knew that they should have no real trouble surviving. With a lush planet like this, and the supplies and equipment fortune had smiled upon them. And Kylen was someone who had been trained and prepared to make do and adapt and overcome obstacles in colonizing a world. There were only to have been 2 supply runs a year to Tellis, and while they would have been able to call for help, it would take months for anyone to reach them. True, they had a lot more people and supplies; but that planet was nowhere near as lush and easy to live off as Catonius 3 was. Of Course now they knew why Tellis had been chosen by Aerotech; after a suitable time, the Sewel Fuel would have been discovered and mining begun; with a colony already established, that would have been easy.

It was very unlikely that any sewel fuel was on Catonius; this planet, while rich in minerals and other materials, like earth, was just like earth very unlikely to have any exotic minerals like that.

Kylen was at the hatch, eager to get out and start looking around. McQueen told her to be patient, then unstrapped a rifle and made sure it was locked and loaded. Kylen rolled her eyes. "As much noise as this thing makes. I imagine any thing that could will already be miles away by now." McQueen nodded, then said "BUT they may be curious enough to come back fairly soon. And you never know. We cannot afford to take chances. So you will be taking one as well." Kylen grimaced but nodded. It took only a couple of minutes to get out another one. Kylen had fired them during her training, so she was familiar with them. McQueen was the first one out, looking around, then Kylen followed. The ground was fairly soft= the shuttle was already sinking into the ground, slightly. McQueen looked at the runners, then looked at Kylen and said "we will have to keep an eye on it- but I doubt that it will sink far enough to worry us.". The grass- if that is what it was- was very lush and thick and almost 6 inches high. Kylen bent down and took a few blades and put it in a bag to be analyzed. Then they wondered around the immediate area, slowly and carefully, studying the ground and the trees and bushes. The trees resembled oaks or walnuts, with triangular leaves that were a pinkish blue; but other then that looked very earthlike. Kylen found a bush that was very green with orange fruit on it the size of cherries; she picked several and put them in a bag. She found several other bushes that were a little different with berries on them. It wasn't long until she had over 30 little plastic bags full of samples to be analyzed.

McQueen left the plants to Kylen; he was checking out the animals. True to her comment, it appeared that anything that could had gotten away and was reluctant to come back. There was a good sized stream only about 100 yds away from the shuttle down a little slope. It looked like any earth type stream that you would find in the Pacific Northwest; heavily wooded around it, with rocks at the bottom, and about 50 feet across. He knelt down and filled a sample bottle of the water. Then he noticed movement in the stream. What looked like a cross between a catfish and a salmon was barely visible. It looked like it could weigh as much as 5 lbs or more. McQueen got up and went back to the shuttle, checking on Kylen who was nearby avidly going through the trees and bushes. He looked around and found the box he was looking for. Putting the sample jar of water in the analyzer, he then opened the box and pulled out a fish net. Then he headed back to the stream. The fish had barely moved. McQueen slowly dipped the net into the stream, working very carefully. Moving a little then stopping, moving a little more then stopping. Then he pounced and got the fish! It flopped and writhed in the net and McQueen took it back to the shuttle. Kylen was checking the analyzer with her back to him. "This water looks quite safe to drink; no bacteria worth mentioning. We will treat it anyway for a while while we adapt to this world. Boil it at first; then maybe some purification pills. After a few months we will try it without treatment.". Then she turned to him and spotted the net with the fish still flopping in it. "Wow, that did not take you long. Are you going to cook it for dinner?" McQueen smirked at her. "No, I am going to keep it as a pet. Of course it is for dinner. I am going to get out the cook stove and a pan." Kylen shook her head. "why a cook stove- why not an open fire?" McQueen stopped. "Of course, why not? Its not like we have to worry about warning an enemy." He then left the fish and net on the box he had opened and headed out to collect firewood. Kylen looked at the fish still moving, although more slowly. "I guess I will clean you- its only fair since he caught you."

It only took 15 minutes for McQueen to gather enough wood for a good sized fire. He gathered stones from the stream to surround the fire and act as a base to put things on. Deciding to make it simple the first time out he eschewed a pan for just cutting up the fish- which Kylen had already cleaned. much to his surprise, and running sticks through it. He then started the fire and placed the sticks with pieces of fish over it.

Since the stream had shown so very little bacteria, Kylen was not worried about eating the fish- had analyzed the berries she found and of the 5 varieties only one checked out as not good to eat. So she went back and gathered more of the 4 that were ok. They were to be her contribution to the evening meal. They had landed in early afternoon; taking their time. So the first day would be short.

The Fish turned out to be quite good- and 2 of the berries were very sweet, one was rather tart like a lemon, and one just plain tasted bad. Still the combination of the berries and about 2 lbs of fish each had filled them up. The days events and exertions had worn them both out; so they turned in early. Kylen had appropriated the rear which had a fold out bed type bench while McQueen made use of one of the same just outside the cockpit. Kylen barely remembered to say good night before she was sound asleep.

McQueen stayed awake a little longer. With the hatch closed they were perfectly safe; nothing could get through the thick steel of the hull. Their cabin/house would have to be built to be quite strong as regards resisting large animals. They had no idea what the biggest ones were or how dangerous they could be. They would just have to be careful. With that thought McQueen drifted off.

The next week consisted of them finding an appropriate area to start growing their garden. Then preparing the soil. The soil itself checked out as being as rich as it looked; with no remarkable minerals or anything else in it. Plenty of nitrogen; it should let anything grow quite well. They decided to plant only one third of the available seed; save the rest for later. With the stream chock full of fish, that should last them most of the spring and summer and fall. The Berries and other edible natural plants should also help. What concerned McQueen was the winter- when those food stuffs would no longer be available. Kylen reminded McQueen that they had the facilities to freeze/dry quite a bit; and if they could find some sand, they would be able to make their own jars and such, which could also be used to can and store food for winter. McQueen had already decided that they needed to hunt; he would use the rifle for the moment, but would start to prepare traps and also to construct a bow and arrows to hunt with. Kylen was daily finding and analyzing more plants. Much of what she found was edible, if not particularly nutritious. However, she had also found this planets version of melons, both mush and water; they tasted quite good. They would be growing corn, wheat, vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, celery and spinach. Also she had already planted apple, cherry, peach and pear trees. It would be some years before they got fruit from them, but that was ok. They had decided to wait until the next year before they tried to get chickens and eggs. They had spotted, at a distance, what appeared to be cow like animals. If that is what they appeared to be, then capturing and domesticating them would be a very good thing. McQueen had also spotted what he thought were pig like creatures.

It was decided to wait until they had built their house before they built something for animals. So that might have to wait until spring as well. On the bad side, Kylen had already spotted what she thought was a mountain lion type of cat, and McQueen had spotted what appeared to be a dog like animal, or maybe wolf like. That could possibly become a dog in time, but the lion was a bigger worry. It had been decided to deploy some warning sensors, that would set off if anything bigger then something the size of a rabbit came near.

It was more then a month since they had landed. In that time they had planted their garden, and then had to build a fence around it to keep plundering animals away. Sensors which emitted high tones not heard by the human ear had done quite well in scaring the plundering animals away. The mountain lion, which really did resemble an earth mountain lion except that it was a little smaller but had bigger teeth, had gotten close enough for McQueen to shoot. Examining it had shown the size of its teeth. A rabbit like animal had been shot as well, then cooked. It was ok, but not really tasty. However, in return they had also gotten one of the pig like animals and that had been very good indeed. It had been just like pork and bacon; and since the animal weighed over 150 lbs, it had lasted for more then a week. The solar panels deployed turned out to be able to keep the small refrigerator/freezer going, so they were able to freeze the meat and refrigerate some of the rest. Some animals that resembled deer had been spotted up the nearby mountain- it was not a real mountain, but Kylen called it that. It was about 2500 feet high, very rocky at the top. It was decided to spend a couple of days going up the mountain. They could explore and McQueen could do some hunting.

They had worked on a plan for the farm. One house, one story with 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms a living room and a kitchen. Indoor pluming was an absolute as far as Kylen was concerned. McQueen tweaked her about it- until she pointed out how much fun he would have during the winter going to an outhouse.

No more argument after that. A barn, and a corral, then a chicken coup and a run. Garden would be between the house and the barn. There would be a 6' fence all around the farm. A smaller tighter one around the coup and run. One of the items in the shuttle had been a small table saw type machine. Also included was a chain saw- another item that mystified Kylen since she knew the outpost had not had any trees. McQueen was of the opinion that someone had thought the outpost was somewhere else with much more plant and tree like growth. Kylen agreed, saying that for once a screw-up had been very helpful.

The hunting/mountain climbing expedition had been very worthwhile. McQueen was quite happy since he had shot several deer like animals and they had been every bit as tasty as venison. Kylen was also happy since she had found more edible plants. It was agreed that sometime they would build a cabin up there for an annual hunting lodge. Also they had spotted what looked like a lake with sand around it only a few miles away. A side trip there had proven it. A sample of the sand was taken back to see if they could make glass. One other extremely helpful item included in the manifest was a pocket computer that had been programmed as a survival helper. It described things like building shelters and also making things like glass and such. Between that and what McQueen had learned over the years and Kylens training as a colonist, they actually had very few things that they had to go over the long process of trial and error.

Kylen looked at the improvised calendar she had made. Since this planet had a slightly longer day, and the seasons were a little different, it had been her job to make a calendar they could rely upon. They still had 12 months, but they were all 31 days, since catonius had 372 days in its year. It was figured that winter was a little shorter, starting in late December and ending in early march, just about 2.5 months. Spring was a little longer at 3 months; summer was longest at 3.5nths, and fall was 3 months. McQueen figured that the real growing season was from early April to the end of October. About 200 days in all. so they could plant virtually anything. The garden had done quite well; the vegetables had gotten huge. Potatoes the size of grapefruit, carrots the size of billy clubs; corn had cobs almost a foot long, sometimes a foot and a half. And so on. The glass had been a little difficult to make at first, but they had gotten the knack of it. Now they were making jars, and had improvised lids that would seal with the help of some gum from trees they had found. So Kylen was in the process of canning all she could. They had been lucky again in finding a source of salt while they were climbing up the mountain. All the venison type meat plus a fair amount of several cow types that McQueen had shot was salted down for the winter. That and the fish pretty much ensured that they would have plenty of food for the winter. The house had just gotten finished last week, the last week in September. It had taken longer then they had thought; cutting the trees was the easy part; putting the pieces together tightly and well was a lot tougher. They had decided to double wall it, for insulation and safety reasons. By putting one set of logs, then filling in dirt between it and the inner logs, not only was it insulated but it was very strong and very secure. Building a septic tank had taken a while as well. Making a windmill that pumped water from the stream had made things really simple. Te fireplace and chimney had been somewhat easier, since they had been able to make the simple type concrete to form it easily and well. the bathroom had ended up being quite big since Kylen had demanded a hot water heater of some type and a bath tub. They had made the tub out of glass- very thick glass; and the hot water heater had been built out of metal salvaged from some big containers out of the shuttle. Small stoves had been built out of other containers for each of the bedrooms, and a bigger stove for kitchen. With the house finished, and enough food put down for the winter, the first snow had not caught them out. Everything that could be harvested from the surrounding area had been gotten in, and there was nothing left in the garden.

McQueen looked at the hide from the large cow type animal that he had hunted the week before. One thing they did not have enough of was warm clothing. They had some survival type gear but nothing that could last for long in heavy use. So this first winter they would be confined to indoors or the shuttle. It was decided that outside of finishing the interior of the house, that making warm clothing for the winter would be a must. This large hide should yield a full coat for him and a small jacket for Kylen. The other hide would make some more clothes like pants and such. this would be a slow process but they had plenty of time.

It had been remarkable, Kylen thought, how little they argued and fought. Of course being busy as all get out probably had something to do with that. But it seemed like they got along quite well. Kylen wondered if living with Nathan would have been this easy. McQueen was of the same mind; compared to his short marriage to Amy, living with Kylen was a walk in the park. She occasionally had her moods (he had early on figured out what time of the month to be careful on) but they never lasted long and she had generally a sunny outlook on life. Of course living on a planet that seemed to go out of its way to be helpful was a good thing as well. He wondered if it had been tougher to survive if they had gotten on so well.

McQueen had gone on a short hunting campaign. Kylen had been a little worried about him being alone, but had not objected. He had been lucky, and besides some more meat he had been able to drag home extra hides. These he would use to make moccasins. By the end of December they should be in good shape.

It was December and winter was close; it was below freezing at night and not much warmer during the day. They had managed to finish the exterior of the house, and after some not so good results had made enough good glass to put double panes in all the windows. The windows were crude and one had to take care in lifting the glass as there were no frames; but they let light in and that was what mattered. Between some solar panels and a small wind generator that McQueen had been able to rig on the roof there was enough power for several lights; which was a good thing since they had not yet found anything that would be a good substitute for candles; they could make lamps but oil for them was lacking. With the weather getting colder, outdoor activities were harder to bear, since they had not yet been able to make warm enough clothes. The two small lathes, one for wood and one for metal had been set up in the cargo hold of the shuttle. It was McQueen's intention to start working them during the coldest part of the winter, after finishing off the interior of the house. Kylen had been working on making some chairs and tables, and while crude they were useable. Comfortable beds had not been a problem; simple frames were enough if the sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses were used.

Beginning in January, the weather got very bad. Snow piled up and it was all McQueen could do to keep a path clear to the shuttle. The temperatures dropped to below zero and stayed there; that with an almost constant wind precluded any serious outdoor work. So they concentrated on the interior of the house, making improvements and adding small luxuries. McQueen spent his other time working the lathes in the shuttle, making wooden tables and chairs to replace the crude ones Kylen had built. Kylen had taken the hides that McQueen had cured and prepared and began to make clothes and jackets and coats and moccasins. By the beginning of February, they had pretty much run out of work that could be done inside. McQueen had run out of good wood, and most of what the lathe could do with metal was done as well. Kylen had used up all the hides; they both now had a heavy coat, moccasins and lighter jackets as well. They still needed more clothes and such things as hats and gloves, so they were unable to venture outside.

Kylen looked outside at yet another snowstorm and sighed; she knew she was getting what was called cabin fever; being cooped up inside for too long a period. But there was no help to it. With the snow, wind and below zero temperatures, they could not stay outside for more then a few minutes. McQueen had given up trying to keep a path clear to the shuttle; there was just too much snow, and the wind blew it back as quick as he shoveled it. So they were both stuck inside the house, and had just about run out of anything to work on. And while it was February, they figured that they still a least a month away from temperatures warm enough to really accomplish anything outside. Kylen had started to think about the future; something neither of them had discussed. But the hardest part of what they had to do to survive had already been done; while building the barn, capturing and domesticating animals would be hard, with all that they had already accomplished it did not seem like it would be that hard a task. She turned away from the window and looked over to where McQueen was finishing table that just about completed the furniture that they needed. Kylen hesitated before bringing up some subjects that they both had avoided. While a natural thing to do under the circumstances, Kylen decided enough was enough.

"Six, we need to talk." McQueen looked up at Kylen; who had a very serious look on her face. Wondering what could have set this off, he put the last touches on the table and put down the tools that he had made. She motioned him over to what they called the sofa; it really wasn't one, but it sort of looked like it and while it was crude and not very soft, it would serve its purpose for a while. McQueen slowly walked over and sat down facing her as she sat on the other side, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

Kylen took a deep breath; come on girl, lets get it done. She looked at him and said: " I think it is time we discussed some things. We know that at the very least we are here for 5 more years at least, and probably longer. I don't doubt that someone will come through the wormhole – as long as it keeps opening- but we really do not know how long that will take. I don't want to put my whole life on hold any longer; between Aerotech, the Chigs and the AI's I have lost too much time and I am not going to lose any more." McQueen looked at her, his eyes asking a question. She looked back at him and screwed up her courage. "I am 26 years old, and I do not want to wait any longer to start a family." That should get a reaction, she thought.

McQueen almost let his jaw fall, clenching his teeth at the last moment. Did she really say what I think she said? Kylen was pale, and had her hands clenched in her lap, but she was looking him right in the eye. But what startled McQueen even more was his own internal reaction- JOY. And an external reaction- he had just gotten hard. Very hard. He took a deep breath- "Kylen, have you thought this through? We do not have very good medical facilities; and no doctor. You are a med tech, but you will be the one having the babies so that does not help a lot. There are so many things that could go wrong."

Kylen slowly let out the breath that she had been holding. He was not objecting in the way that she thought he would- and that knowledge made her very warm inside- and she was starting to get wet in a certain place. "We are better off then many pioneers are, in many places. We have a good amount of instructions, and guidance. the risks to me and the babies is no worse then it would be in many places on Earth and elsewhere. I am young enough, and very healthy. There is no reason to expect any complications." Now the ball was in his court. "Kylen, when I was a prisoner of the AI's, I was … injured in my groin. Doctors told me that I might not be able to have children the normal way. And that was when I was a lot younger; the odds now are probably not that good." Kylen softly smiled at him; she knew now it was going to be ok. "That is a chance we have to take. Can you tell me you do not want children?" He slowly shook his head. For a moment he bowed his head, and when he raised his head there was a look in his eyes that warmed Kylen; and made her very wet. "I want children very much; and I cannot think of anyone who would be a better mother."

McQueen took a deep breath and stood up. He held out his hand to her, she placed her hand in his and let him draw her to her feet. Then he drew her close. He put his arms around her and hugged her. She hugged him back and then raised her face. He bent down and they kissed for the first time. That stoked the flames in both of them. With an easy motion McQueen picked Kylen up in his arms and headed for her bedroom- she then said- "No, your room. That is where we begin." He then carried her into his room and gently laid her on the bed.

McQueen wanted to take his time, but he was so aroused and hard that it was very difficult. He slowly undressed Kylen, enjoying unwrapping her like a Christmas present. She smiled up at him, not shy at all as he removed the last of her clothes, then sat back and drank his fill of her. She had very shapely legs, and the golden curls surrounding her womanhood were quite wet, making him all the harder. The taught flatness of her stomach, which he hoped would one day swell with their child, then the firm, full, breasts, topped with pink nipples, that were very hard. He bent down and took one in his mouth, slowly suckling and tugging and pulling at it. Kylen felt like she was on fire; McQueen was torturing her. She held his head to her breast as he pleasured her. Finally he let go of the nipple with a faint plop, and looked into her heated gaze. Then he stood up and slowly removed his clothes. Strong and taught and and VERY hard- and quite big he was. His artificial leg hardly showed. Kylen reached forward with her hand and stroked him- and enjoyed his groan of pleasure. Kylen then leaned back and spread her legs. "Ok, six, this woman wants you and wants you now. SO TAKE ME!" McQueen was barely able to restrain himself- he swooped down on her, draped her legs over his arms and spread her even wider, then looking her right in the eye slowly entered her. With a slow steady push he was encased in her hot, wet tightness. GOD she was tight. Kylen groaned from deep in her as he filled her- this was incredible, she had never felt so full. Then he began to move, slowly at first, then faster and faster, harder and harder and she moved with him, her legs wrapped around him now urging him in deeper and harder.

McQueen bent down a little and took her other nipple in his mouth as he took one hand and began to manipulate her clit. Kylen was thrashing and moaning and wailing and that aroused him even more, if that was possible, to pound her harder and harder. Kylen suddenly stiffened, then it felt like a velvet glove over a steel fist clenched him, and with a groan he let go as she did, the moans echoing about the small house.

Kylen stirred, then stiffened as she realized she was not alone. Then memories of the previous evening awakened in her, which also aroused her. So she proceeded to do something about it.

McQueen woke up to Kylen enjoying herself- which was not bad at all for him. Before he exploded, he pulled her up and proceeded to claim his woman once again, to her complete enjoyment.

Some time later, after both were sated, they started to get up. Kylen first, since she really had to go. McQueen laid back and enjoyed the view. Kylen smirked at him, then wiggled her rear end and said" feel like sharing the shower?" The shower was something that took a surprising amount of work, since they had no way to really get any water pressure. So they put together a good sized tank right above the bathroom and fixed it to be heated by a small stove. It usually took about half an hour to heat the water.

McQueen rose up and proceeded to sweep her up in his arms and carry her to the bathroom. After starting the fire, McQueen then decided to shave. Kylen asked to do if for him, and he gave her a suspicious look. She smirked again, but quietly shaved him. By the time she was done, the water was warm enough for a shower. Though by the time they left the water was gone- they did not notice too much since they were involved in other activities besides washing.

McQueen had to admit he was a little surprised how aggressive Kylen was in getting what she wanted- NOT that he was complaining. Considering how very inexperienced she was, Kylen was very adventurous and creative. He had never been with a woman so open and straight forward in bed; she had no problem letting him know when he pleased her, and he tried to repay the complement. Kylen was very content with her lot; McQueen was a very passionate and considerate lover. The rest of the winter would pass a lot quicker, she was sure.

A little over 2 weeks after the big change in their relationship, Kylen looked at the calendar and frowned. Something was off but she could not figure out what it was. Taking a closer look at it, she realized what it was. She was late by almost 4 days; and Kylen was hardly ever late. Taking a deep breath, she was uncertain if she should tell McQueen or not. Deciding to give it a few more days, she said nothing.

McQueen looked at his own calendar and frowned. He was missing something- then he looked at it again and he realized that Kylen had not yet gotten her period. He had marked those days on his calendar in order to remind himself to tread lightly around her until that time was past. He wondered if Kylen had noticed it yet; maybe she had and was waiting to be sure. He was not too familiar with women in this way and did not want to rock the boat. And if he was honest with himself, he did not want to be disappointed. He never realized just how badly he wanted children; when the doctors had told him that he probably could not have any naturally, at that time it had not bothered him that much. Now he knew why; he had not found someone he wanted to have children with. Amy was not someone that he had really looked at that with. Now, with Kylen, he wanted children badly.

The weather was starting to warm up; not notably, but steadily if slowly. It was still too cold to do much outside, but McQueen had been able to clear the path to the shuttle. It was decided that they would start on the barn first thing, after building a corral. Catching some of the cow type animals was a priority. Also the pig type as well. The chicken coup would not take long. Kylen had decided to start the eggs out in the house, so that they could be sure that they were kept warm enough. McQueen had felled a large number of trees in the fall, in order for them to get seasoned. That was going to take some effort; while they did have a log splitter and a small saw, the barn was going to be much bigger then the house and would require longer pieces, not the cut down pieces they had used for the house. How to move them and lift them was going to require some serious planning and thought.

Kylen had decided to finally tell McQueen that she was more then 10 days late; that could only mean that she was pregnant. She suspected that he knew as well; she had looked at his calendar once and noted that the little marks on certain days corresponded quite well with her period. They were going to have to change some of their plans; she would be unable to help him with some of the more strenuous and dangerous parts of the barn building; as well as capturing the animals to stock it.

Kylens "we have to talk" pretty much told McQueen what he wanted to know; before she could even bring it up he had picked her up, and sat down with her in his lap, and he just held her. Kylen sat quietly and let herself be held; she knew that McQueen needed to go about this in his own way.

McQueen cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her; then placed both hands over her stomach.

She put her hands over his; and they just sat there. Then he picked her up, and said "Right now I very much want to make love to the lady that is carrying our child." That brought tears to her eyes, and she rubbed her face on his chest as he carried her to the bedroom.

Things proceeded fairly smoothly after that. Kylen was careful, but made it clear she was not going to be coddled. McQueen sometimes had to told to back off, when he got over protective. He would not let her lift anything heavier then a few pounds, which did not help as they worked on the barn. Luckily they had built some A Frames the year before to help build the house, so they came in handy this year. By the end of April they had the framework done, the chicken coup finished, and the first flock of chickens had hatched. By the end of may they had two sides done, and had finished the corral. It was decided to catch the animals next. By using sensors and warning buzzers, they hoped to drive some of the cow/calf combinations into the corral. Kylen was only a little over 3 months along, so she could still move pretty well.

It had turned out pretty well; they had caught 8 in total, all cows, 3 with calves. They resembled earth cattle pretty much, a little bigger and with only one horn like a rhino, but not much different otherwise.

The local equivalent of hay had been planted early on, and was a quick grower. So here in June there was some already to harvest. It was put in crude troughs, and water in large containers next to it. They figured it would be some time before they could tame them well enough to milk them, but they were in no hurry. They seemed to be pretty passive animals, so it should not take long. They had decided to build a separate smaller corral for the bull they intended to catch that fall for breeding purposes. When one of the cows got in heat, she would be moved to the smaller corral.

They spent the rest of June working on the barn, and building another corral for the pigs. The chickens had hatched and were still too young to be put in the coup yet, but it would only take a few weeks for them to be big enough. They had the four walls of the barn done, so only the rafters, loft and roof were left to do. Kylen was starting to show, and the extra weight and bulk were beginning to slow her down.

So she was left guarding the gate at the corral while McQueen tried to catch some of the pig types. They were bigger then earth pigs, with flatter, broader heads and also, like the cattle types, one horn. This turned out to be harder then the cattle, as the pigs were more stubborn and much harder to herd. It took McQueen all day to catch 3 sows and drag them into the corral. Even though they were young ones, they were all over 100 kilos and very strong. Kylen gave him a standing ovation, which gained her a dirty look when they closed the gate. She smiled at him, then leaned in and kissed him, promising a more suitable reward later. That cheered him up.

The next day McQueen went out and caught 4 more, two of them young males. They examined their catch, and decided enough was enough. They spent the rest of the week getting the animals used to their presence, and building sheds for shelter. When the barn was finished, there would be room for all the pigs and the cows inside, while the bull would stay outside most of the time, only being put in a special stall for the winter.

Through the end of July they worked on the barn, finally getting all of the structure part done except the roof. It had been decided to use sod for the barn roof like they had done for the house; it should work out well and serve as an insulator as well. That took them until halfway through august to finish, and the rest of the month building the interior partitions and the stalls.

With the coming of September they were able to harvest most of their crops. Kylen by now in her 7th month was getting less and less mobile. She spent a lot of her time with the pigs and cattle, getting them used to her and being around people. The chickens were now in their coup, and growing was also beginning the canning process for the winter, though they would need less of that this year with the other food supplies available. McQueen was working on building a greenhouse as an addition to the house, and was almost half way done. It would be a smaller version of their garden, with some of their crops as well. Making the glass had been the hard part; traveling to the lake and bringing back enough sand in their small home built cart had taken over a dozen trips, each taking a full day. McQueen wanted to have it done by the end of October.

Kylen had been able to get two of the cows to trust her enough to milk by the end of August; the milk turned out to taste pretty much like earth cow milk did. Being able to use milk, make butter, and make bread in the oven from their first crop of wheat greatly expanded their meal variety. McQueen had found the time to build another small windmill for power to operate a small freezer they had removed from the shuttle, and to jury rig a refrigerator. His hunting trips had done well, and with the extra hides added to the meat they would have plenty to occupy their time when the weather started to get worse.

By the middle of October, they had finished the barn and the green house, and were pretty much done with all the outdoor improvements they had planned for the year. Kylen was barely able to move around, as her 8th month began, and she was getting impatient for the baby to be born. They had gone over the med tapes and medical programs they had, and had practiced as much as possible the delivery. McQueen was worried about making a mistake, so Kylen was constantly reassuring him. McQueen had set up a trap line and had gathered a number of the rabbit types for soft clothing to be made out of. He had carefully built a crib, and they had spent a lot of time getting everything ready.

The beginning of November found them anxiously awaiting the birth. The green house was done, and the planting there finished. The cows, calf's and pigs and piglets (one of the sows had been pregnant when they caught her) were moved to the barn at night, but were allowed to roam the corrals during the day, but as it got colder they choose to do that less and less. McQueen was chopping firewood every day, partly for need and partly to keep from hovering over Kylen, who had made it clear that he did that at great risk to himself. They had built two stoves to provide heat for the barn, though they doubted the animals would need extra heat to survive, since they did that quite well in the wild. But it made them feel better, plus the better they made the conditions, the more content the animals. McQueen had built a covered walkway to the barn from the house, so that he would not need to shovel in the winter. That actually had taken longer then they thought, not being done with it until the end of the second week in November.

On the 21st of November, Kylen went into labor. She had been having Braxton-Hicks for a week prior, so she was very ready for it to begin. McQueen found out how hard it was to sit by and watch the person you love go through pain. Kylen was holding up well, but it was still labor and that meant serious pain.

It was 18 hrs before she crowned; by then they were both exhausted and just wanted it to be over. It was at 0300 on the 22nd of November that Joshua Ross McQueen was born. They did not have a scale, and did not really care how much he weighed. He was of good size and made a lot of noise, and that was all that mattered. McQueen watched while Kylen nursed him for the first time, and found himself humbled and without words.

Kylen spent the next day laying in bed, getting used to the baby, and his demands on her. It had been decided that Kylen would do most of the care giving, since the feeding and the care of the animals took a lot of time and effort. She even banished McQueen to the other bedroom, pointing out that at least one of them needed to get some serious sleep.

As the weeks went by, and the baby grew, Kylen was able to do more around the house. McQueen had not realized how much she did each day until she wasn't doing it. Her decree that he sleep in the other bedroom made sense, and he was grateful if a little guilty about the sleep he got and she didn't. Though she napped during the day, it was still a great relief that by the end of December the baby was sleeping as much as 4 hrs at a time.

They had had another piece of good luck when a young bull had started to hang around the corral where the cows were in November, and had been enticed into the outer corral. He had then been rewarded when he got to breed with all 8 of the cows. They had bred all of the pig sows as well, splitting them up between the two males. Spring would see a large number of baby animals.

January and February passed with few problems. Joshua was growing like a weed. All the animals and the chickens were doing well; they would be getting the first eggs that summer. With no big building projects planned for the coming year, they would concentrate on the animals and making refinements and improvements. They had been a little off on what the animals would consume, so that most of the green house had been planted with the hay. They discussed building another green house, but felt that that was not needed if they planted more hay that year. To make up for the loss of the green house, Kylen had put tomato plants in glass pots in all the windows, along with some other plants. The green house had been an ingenious idea- large trays were made and slid out from under each other every 2-3 hrs, so that all the trays got some sun. The plants grew a little slower, but they were able to triple the amount they planted. Though it took more work, they were able to grow enough to tide the animals over until spring.

March was almost over before the weather warmed up enough to let the animals outside; they were reluctant to leave the warm barn, but McQueen enjoyed not having to keep the stoves running. Luckily the weather hit spring quickly after it broke, by the beginning of April the grass was green and feeding the animals was no longer needed. They extended the fences for the corrals so that more new grass was available. Tilling and planting occupied most of April. They planted twice as much hay as the previous year, wanting a margin for error or more animals. Which they got starting in May; all 8 of the cows and 6 of the 7 sows bore young. Kylen also insisted on increasing the size of their garden, as well as keep planting in the green house.

2 years had passed since they had landed; and they were both very happy. Kylen was talking about having another baby already, even though Joshua was barely 5 months old. She pointed out that if she got pregnant in April, the baby would come in late January. Good time to have a baby since not much else would be going on. McQueen made a show of thinking about it, though he wanted more children just as much. Besides, the process of starting one was so enjoyable. Having Joshua had not put as much of a crimp in their sex life as both had quietly feared, though they realized that 2 young ones would be a lot harder to get around. And once they got old enough to start noticing things….

As it turned out, the process did not take that long- Kylen noting that the doctors that had told McQueen that he would have hard time having children had been pretty badly wrong. By the end of May Kylen was definitely pregnant, and due around the beginning or middle of February.

They spent their third summer getting ready for their third winter and the baby. Joshua kept right on growing like a weed, and seemed to be a very bright and intelligent child. McQueen had convinced Kylen that a second green house was a good idea, only this one would be attached to the barn. So June and July was taken up with that. They had tamed one of the cows enough to harness, and had used her to help plant and pull things- and they built a wagon that was able to transport enough sand from the lake for the green house in only 3 trips. And a lot less work for him, commented McQueen. They finished it in August, just in time to start harvesting some of the crops. That took the rest of August and most of September to finish. But they now had enough feed – corn and hay and some other types of local grass and such that they would have no problem feeding the animals all through the winter into spring. October was McQueens hunting time, and this year would be the last that they would need to hunt for meat. By the next winter, they would start butchering their own, since their herds would be needing to be thinned by then. The chicken were laying eggs at a good rate, and the flock would double that year.

Kylen had talked McQueen into building an ice house- as she pointed out sooner or later their cooling system would wear out and it was necessary to have a freezer and a type of refrigerator. That was done in November, the last thing done before their third winter started.

Kylen had had an even easier second pregnancy, which surprised her. When asked about that by McQueen, she told him that her mother had had a hard second pregnancy, the brother just before she was born. She was glad that that was something that she had NOT inherited. By December, she was in her seventh month and was bigger then she had been with Joshua. McQueen then went and built a kind of stethoscope and listened to her womb; his suspicion was spot on- Kylen was carrying twins. She was not that surprised; twins ran in her family. Joshua was just over a year old and was clearly a fast developer. He was beginning to speak, and make words and sentences, though not quite intelligible all the time.

Kylens labor started on Feb 21, at 1700. They had been a little anxious, while at the same time glad that she was a little late so that the babies would grow a little more. They figured she was about 1-2 weeks overdue, though the exact date of conception was open to debate. The labor went faster this time, only 4 hours after it began the first baby crowned; a little girl popped out. Then minutes later a little boy. This went a lot easier then they had thought it would; McQueen in particular had been worried about complications. Anne Marie McQueen and Samuel James McQueen made a fair amount of noise.

Each of them were a little smaller then Joshua had been, but they were still good sized, probably around 6 lbs each.

If they thought one baby was a lot to handle, two seemed to be more then twice as much. Kylen bounced back pretty quickly, and since all McQueen had to do was water and feed the animals, it was not too bad. But the babies seemed to not want to eat and sleep at the same time, so that was a problem. Unlike with Joshua, Kylen was unable to completely take care of them on her own. And Joshua still needed his share of attention as well. The next month was a tiring one for all of them.

The weather did not break until the end of March, which was a good thing since they needed that time for the babies to grow. And to start sleeping a little more. They decided to wait until the end of the second week in April before they started the year. With the twins now almost 2 months old, they were sleeping more and taking less time to look after. Kylen was now pretty much tied to the house full time, between the twins and Joshua. So McQueen found himself doing pretty much all the work outside of the house himself. They were able to do the plowing and planting together- Kylen riding the cow they had named Bessie with the babies in a backpack they had built and Joshua following along behind McQueen and the plow putting seeds in the holes and covering them up. Joshua was not quite able to keep up, but Kylen saw that and took frequent breaks that allowed him to catch up. With the cow pulling the plow, planting went faster this year then last. By the end of May they were done. With no building projects this year, they had more time- most of which was taken up by the twins and Joshua. One thing had been agreed upon: no more children for at least one year, and probably two. Kylen was already on birth control, but now McQueen started taking it as well- just to be sure.

For Kylen that summer was pretty much a blur as being primary caregiver for an increasingly active not quite 2 year old and twins that were less then 6 months old left her little time to do anything else. She started canning in June, and kept at it as much as possible. She managed to take care of the green house that was attached to the house, and the chickens, but that was all she could do. McQueen had to take care of the crops, the other green house, and the animals. They both felt like they were on treadmills and running as hard as they could but not getting anywhere. It was only when they started to harvest at the beginning of September that they started to actually see some tangible results. McQueen butchered some pigs and 2 of the cattle for meat that they froze in the icehouse. He still intended to do some hunting, but not as much as in previous years. They barely managed to harvest everything in time; between the garden and the crops, it took over one month to harvest and store everything. Kylen only finished the canning in October. By the time they put the animals in at the beginning of November, Kylen and McQueen were exhausted. They spent most of December resting up and doing as little as possible, with McQueen spending a lot of time with the children. He wanted them to know him better as he normally spent little time with them.

Their 4th winter found them with a greater variety of food then ever before, which helped to relieve the tedium. Kylen experimented with baking, and did not do badly. McQueen attempted to brew some beer and wine, with decidedly mixed results. Kylen remarked that they were almost celibate, with so little time and usually being pretty tired. Not to mention the three pairs of prying and inquisitive eyes. With Joshua over 2, and more and more aware of things, and very much wanting to know 'why', was enough to put a damper on anyone's love life. The twins, now getting near one year old by the end of the winter, were not yet aware enough to be a problem; the time needed to take care of them was. The animals were doing well, the first of the chickens to be slaughtered tasted quite good; as did the cows and the pigs. The hens were almost laying more eggs then they could eat. The crop harvest had done so well that the barn was stuffed to the rafters, and they had had to use most of the outdoor sheds to store the rest. That was used up first, so by the beginning of January they were empty again. But it had been decided to build more storage as the primary project for the coming year.

By the middle of March the weather turned warm, so they were able to put the animals out early, and begin planting by the beginning of April, as their 5th year there began. They knew that if the wormholes acted as expected there would be one opening up early in November. Kylen and McQueen had quietly discussed what they would do if the Fleet sent a shuttle in. What they had decided to do was see if the fleet would return in the next wormhole with more settlers; this world was about the easiest to settle of any they had ever heard of. If no one came by the next wormhole, then they would very reluctantly leave. They had grown to love the planet, but they could only stay if more settlers came. This was no life for the children, or really themselves. There was no margin for error, or disease, or serious accident.

As the summer went by, Kylen and McQueen more and more got to thinking about the coming wormhole. They made some preparations, but mostly they just put it out of their minds. True, it had been occasionally lonely with just the two of them, and Kylen missed being able to see her family, but all in all they were quite happy and content with their lives. McQueen wanted to see a ship that was big enough to have a Chaplain; he very much wanted to marry Kylen. Kylen felt the same- she very much wanted to become Mrs. McQueen. With the twins now almost 2, and Joshua almost 4, the pressure was off for taking care of them, and Kylen was starting to think about having more children. McQueen had just stared at her when she brought it up; she laughed at the expression on his face and said she was just thinking about it. They decided to wait until after the wormhole to start on what McQueen called their joint operation.

The approx time of the wormhole was coming; they had finished the harvest and had made all preparations for winter. It should open up sometime in November, probably later in the month. The anticipation was almost more then they could bear.

Admiral Glenn Ross was impatient; they were almost to the site of the wormhole, but delays had been costly. Engine trouble in the Saratoga had delayed them more then he thought they had. They had to hope the wormhole would be a few days late. He mused about the changes since McQueen and Kylen had gone through it. Operation Anvil had turned out to be a master stroke; and the Chigs, smashed and pushed back to their home world, had finally sued for peace. The only price they asked for was the heads of Aerotech, which UN President Diane Hyland had been only too happy to supply. Ross grimly chuckled at that; he would have been happy to deliver them himself. The Chigs had never told them what they did with them; and no one really wanted to know. Aerotech had been broken up right after the peace treaty was signed, and once the records were made public that Aerotech had known of the Chigs and still had located Tellis and Vesta where they would cause trouble, cries for more then the heads already delivered went out. That settled down in the end, but no one was likely to forget it any time soon. After more then 3 years of peace, Ross was starting to get bored. Now he was eager to locate his wayward friend, and hopeful he and Kylen were ok. The plan was to send a shuttle at full speed as soon as the wormhole opened. The shuttle would be loaded with supplies, actually three shuttles, just in case something happened and the wormhole closed sooner then expected or something else delayed them. It was figured that the shuttles could get to the planet in a little over one hour, which would give them about an hour on the surface with a little safety margin.

McQueen had set the shuttle com system up on standby-receive activate, so that the moment it got a signal it would make lots of noise. On November 17 it activated. McQueen was in barn as he was every morning feeding the animals when he heard the signal. As he ran out the barn he saw Kylen carrying the twins with Joshua right behind her heading towards the shuttle. They had recorded a message for immediate response and it was automatically sent out. They crowded into the cockpit and waited for the response from the incoming ships. McQueen sat down in the pilots seat and switched on the set.

Ross waited impatiently for the relay from the wormhole. He was hovering over the com Lt, just about breathing down his neck. Finally it came. He reached for the mike and triggered it. "Saratoga to McQueen, come in." seconds ticked by. "McQueen to Saratoga". Ross broke out his biggest smile; "Its about time you got back to work, TY. Loafing on a resort planet for 5 years is too long a vacation."

"You could call it a vacation; I call it a lot of work making a life." "Ready to come home" several seconds passed, Ross starting to get worried. "Not coming this time, Glen; we have a great life here, and its one we do not really want to give up. We recorded a message that we are giving the shuttle crew when they land. We really do appreciate the supplies; that will help. Now after reading our message you should understand; We will need help getting some things done. According to the pattern, 2 years will go by before the next wormhole. That should be plenty of time for things to get done. If nothing happens then Kylen and I will leave. We really do not want to, but it would be the only sensible thing to do."

Ross sat for a few moments, thoughts swirling through his mind. Ty had found something that drew him more then the Corps did; duty, and everything else. He had a hunch on what that was. This message should be very interesting. He picked the mike back up"OK, Ty you know I will do anything I can. I guess I will be seeing you, or at least talking to you in 2 years." "Thanks, Glen. I knew I could count on you. Be seeing you, McQueen out".

Kylen, McQueen and the children eagerly awaited the shuttles. They had signaled them on exactly where to land. They would not have much time to unload before they had to leave. The crews of the shuttles were stunned by what they found as they left the ships: a whole farm, complete with farmers family. They snapped right to work as McQueen resurrected his command voice. It was quickly decided that they did not have time to unload all three shuttles; there was too much and since it was all secured it

would just take too much time. After looking over the list of supplies, they went after the most useful and went after that. In the end they took a little over a third of what the shuttles had. They took back the discs with the messages on them, and lifted off, after draining enough fuel from each shuttle to fill up the old shuttle- keeping just enough to get back to the Saratoga. Kylen, McQueen and the children waived as they took off.

Ross played the disc McQueen had left with him back again. After the third time he was still in shock.

Kylen and McQueen; and now with 3 children. He shook his head, and grinned. No wonder the corps had lost its pull; Ty finally had what he had always wanted, but never realized it until he had it: a real family. That part about building a colony; that would take some work. But considering the details they had shown in the other disc, Catonius 3 did appear to be just about an ideal world to colonize. Ross had a hunch that it would not be that hard to find people that wanted to go; he had never heard of such a lush and inviting planet anywhere. He certainly would do everything he could to make it happen. Ross stopped to think; he was due to retire in 2 years; with the war over that was possible again. He and Elaine had started to talk about what they wanted to do, but had not really found anything that looked inviting. This might be it. The only real drawback would be that they would be cut off from the children and grandchildren that would be coming. On the other hand, this looked like a real challenge and would be certainly NOT boring. And if they went at the next wormhole, they only had a little over a year and a half until the next, and less then a year after that. So they could go back for a long visit and return; or if it was not what they wanted, they could just leave. He was going to half to talk to Elaine.

General Radford was just about to retire, but had decided to hang on until the wormhole opened. He had missed Kylen, and to a certain extent McQueen as well. Besides, if something needed to be done, he was in a position to do them. As he looked at the message disk that Kylen had left for him and General Boyington (Becca had retired 2 years ago) he shook his head in amazement. He could tell from the disc that Kylen was very happy, and he knew he had never seen Ty McQueen look so relaxed and content.

A new colony; that could be interesting. That world sounded just about ideal for colonization; certainly better then any other planet he had heard of. There were a fair number of colonies already, but none that he knew of were on a planet that matched Catonius for features and attractions. He suddenly smiled; if he had not already had everything planned out, he would be tempted himself. He had a hunch more then a few veterans of the war might be drawn to such a peaceful and friendly planet.

Becca Boyington, General, USMC, (ret), looked at the disc and shook her head in amazement. She had been so determined to see Ty McQueen with a star on his shoulder before she retired; circumstances had thwarted her. Circumstances, and Kylen Celina. she mused on that; when you think about it, she realized, they were a good match. she thought back to that party so long ago, and she remembered worrying about McQueens relationship to that young woman. At the time, she had been relieved to see that there was nothing except a close friendship. Now she wondered if she had missed something. No, there was nothing to miss at the time. It was only after Celina's engagement broke off, she figured, and they got stranded on that planet. The short message that Kylen had left for General Radford had included one for her as well. Kylen had looked very happy, with two young children on her lap and an older boy behind her, holding McQueens hand. She hoped they were indeed as happy as they looked.

Kylen's father leaned back after viewing the message from his wayward daughter for the third time. The whole family would be here for Thanksgiving, and this year they would have even more to be thankful for. Not knowing how Kylen was doing had nagged at them for more then 5 years; now came the relief.

His little girl was a mother, with 3 children. She looked so happy; he could never remember looking that happy, and never that content. When the Col had visited, the close bond the two of them had been apparent; so he was not surprised that they had gotten even closer. Even though it would be two years before they could contact each other again, the relief he felt was almost as great as when he had been notified that Kylen had been returned from the Chigs. He wondered if there would be more people wanting to settle there; the planet sounded ideal, better then he had ever heard any other planet being.

He had a hunch that it would be very hard indeed for Kylen to leave her new home.

McQueen had been pleased when he heard about how well the Wildcards had done in the 5 years he had been gone. Vansen had stayed in the Corps, of course, but the real surprise was that even after their marriage so had Cooper, and he had been promoted to Captain and was of all things a flight training officer. She was expecting her first child, and things seemed to be going well for her in her first stint behind a desk in the Pentagon. Nathan had married Sarah Thompson, and had indeed stayed in the Corps. He was stationed at Emerald Point NAS as a training officer, in the same training command as Cooper. Its close proximity to DC enabled him and Sarah (who had gotten out, and was going to college) to see a lot of Cooper and Shane. They already had a son, whom they had named after Nathans brother, and were expecting another. Damphous had gotten out and was finishing up the university degree in psychology that the war had interrupted; she had as yet to find someone permanent, but did not seem all that much in a hurry.

It took Kylen and McQueen almost 3 days to sort out the supplies and put them where they needed to be.

The small tractor would be a great thing to plow and work the land; the medical supplies and texts were virtually priceless; and the generators and solar power packs would be a big help. The ATV would be a great thing for getting around in, and the seeds and other things would be very useful as well. But most of all were the basic references for all things that they might need to do as regards building, farming, etc. They had had to figure too much out on their own up till now without good background information; now they had all that they would probably ever need.

Winter made its appearance soon after the shuttles left. And it looked like it would be a long and hard one. Luckily the children did not need as much care as in the past, so both of them could concentrate on taking care of the animals and the other chores of a working farm in the winter. One of the items the shuttles brought in most prized by McQueen was a snow blower, and also a blade that could be fitted on the ATV. During the worst of the snows, Kylen would use the ATV with the blade, and McQueen the snow blower. That made things much better. They were able to clear enough of one of the corrals to allow the animals to get out and get exercise; something last winter they had not been able to do. That would help keep the animals much healthier. With the video games and other items they now had, it was easier to keep the children occupied during the long days and nights that they could not get outside due to the weather. The twins were now over 2, and getting around sometimes a little too well; Joshua had turned 4 in November, just after the shuttles left. He was old enough to watch over the twins now; so they could afford to both go out and leave for at least half a day. With the ATV they were looking at taking the cart they had made and enclosing it; that way they could leave the children inside it and take some over night trips as a family. They could do that in the spring and summer when the animals spent most of their time outside and did not need as much care. As a matter of fact only needing to feed the chickens and collect the eggs prevented them from spending several days away. Outside of some mountain lion types, and what looked to be something of a cross between a wolf and a dog, there were very few predators on this world. Kylen theorized that with such hard winters and hot summers that they were not needed as much as places like earth to keep the populations under control. They had found nothing that looked like bears, raccoons, possums, etc. The animal life was no where near as varied as the plant life was. Kylen was surprised at that; usually such a varied plant life encouraged more different animals. Though they had noticed that small animals like squirrels,hamsters, and prairie dog types were common. Apparently the mountain lion and wolf mix made the smaller animals their main pray; the wolf types did not move in packs, so they had no real ability to hunt the cows and larger animals; the mountain lion did on occasion, but seemed to content themselves mostly with smaller ones. None of the predators had shown any signs of wanting to get too close to the farm; though that might possibly have something to do with the warning sensors and noise makers that protected the crops from the birds and other small pests. The bird population was also somewhat small considering the environment; and there were no large birds bigger then crows that they had seen. No hawks, eagles, or vulture/buzzard types had been spotted. All in all a limited variety of animal life when one looked at this lush world.

One of the most prized items that had been brought in were cotton seeds; now they could grow that and make their own clothes. The cloth that the shuttles had left would allow them to last until that cotton was grown and processed. Kylen and McQueen were determined to grow a least 20 acres of cotton that coming year; enough to last them several years. Between the hay and cotton and other crops, they would be planting a lot more the coming growing season. Fortunately with the tractor and other implements, and the ATV, it would be a lot easier to plow, plant and harvest; so all in all they would actually be using less time then before, despite the increased and more varied crops. They had expanded the ice house, and really needed the extra cold storage as they had had to butcher a fair number of animals due to the natural increases. They now had about a 3 months supply of meat stored up; and had frozen some butter and milk. They had cut down on the number of laying chickens as they just could not eat the eggs fast enough. Between the ice house storage and the green houses, they had a fair amount of fresh food for the animals throughout the winter, and actually a good surplus for themselves.

In the meantime, Kylen had been considering when would be the best time to get pregnant again. Obviously it was better to have the baby in the fall or early winter; that way by the time the workload became heavy in the spring Kylen would be able to help more then if she was still pregnant or looking after a new born. McQueen had rolled his eyes a little when she brought up the subject of timing, though he was fully onboard with having more children. He pointed out that they had been very lucky in the ease and quickness that Kylen had gotten pregnant the first two times; that did not mean they would be as lucky the third time. Kylen had just smiled and made the observation that perhaps it was the quantity and quality of effort put into the process that made the difference. The heated look she then gave McQueen had resulted in a very nice hour or so up in the loft of the barn. McQueen had a tendency to smile more now then she had ever seen him before- she thought she knew the reasons why: no need for keeping up the stern visage in front of the troops, and he had a lot more reasons to be happy then he had ever had before. That and, she thought with an inner smile of a content, sated and very satisfied woman, and getting more now then he had ever had before.

McQueen was also musing on how his life had changed over the last almost 6 years. He knew he had never felt as happy, and never anywhere near as content, as he felt right now. He knew he would not be going back to the Corps; that life was over. It had served him well, and he had thought himself fairly content. He now knew that that life had just been a warmup, and preparation for his real life- the one that he had now. A wonderful woman, 3 fine children, and a fulfilling and challenging occupation as a farmer. He had never realized all that went into it, though his visits to the Celina farm had opened his eyes. Now actually having to be a farmer, and making it work, had shown him that in some respects he had had it easy in the Corps. Only during heavy training periods, which did not happen often, had he hard to work as hard as he did most days during the growing season. And he enjoyed it very much; building and growing were much more personally rewarding to him then training for war. If no one decided to come to Catonius 3 and he and his family had to leave, he now knew that what they would do is go somewhere else and start a farm. There were a couple of colony worlds that they could do this on; not as lush nor as easy as here, but it was possible. His mind went back to that afternoon in the barn when Kylen had brought up the subject of another child. The moment she started talking about it he wanted to take her right there and then; and not too much later had done just that. The memory of how Kylen had looked just after, naked and sweating but looking very sated and happy, would remain one of his fondest memories for a long time.

They had decided that having the child born in November or December was best; so conception should take place in February or March. Both McQueen and Kylen had stopped taking their contraceptives in December, and had had enough willpower to keep from starting until January. New Years eve had had a rather different end then normal; Kylen had been very demanding and McQueen more then happy to comply. And once again they had proven those doctors very wrong; Kylen was pregnant again by the middle of February. "Perfect timing" he had mentioned after the test came back positive (another benefit of the shuttles). Kylens only response had been an enigmatic smile; since that smile had reminded McQueen of pictures of the Mona Lisa, he now felt he had an idea what that long ago model had been thinking of at the time.

The only downside to Kylen being pregnant for a November/December birth would be that she would be at the stage of her pregnancy that would restrict her ability to help with the harvest in September, though this did not have that much of an impact this year with the vehicles to help with harvesting. Spring started a little early, possibly in response for the hard winter. They were able to start planting late in March, almost 3 weeks earlier then the previous year. The tractor, equipment and the ATV made plowing and planting much easier and faster; they were finished by the middle of April. That meant the harvest would start late in August and end by the middle of September. The one problem with the tractor and ATV was that they burned fuel that was in limited supply; careful rationing would be needed to spread it out long enough to last all year. After careful consideration it was decided to take the shuttle up and scan the planet for petroleum possibilities. Making ethanol out of the corn had been looked at, and if they could not find any oil easily accessible that is the way they would go. Adding ethanol as a blend with the fuel for the vehicles was a possibility, but would only add about 10% to the stock. Converting them to run on ethanol only would be very difficult; likely not possible with the equipment they had. Natural gas had been considered, that would be easier to convert the vehicles too- but it was harder to find that and unless it was close at hand not of much use since they would only be able to store a small quantity. If they could find some natural oil or the light variety, then they could refine it themselves – they just had enough laboratory equipment to do it. McQueen was really sorry that they could not have gotten diesels; but small vehicles like that were usually still gasoline; diesels were usually used on larger vehicles.

They waited until after spring planting, when the workload had eased, before they took the shuttle up. Prepping it took longer then they had estimated; sitting as it had for almost 6 years had resulted in some necessary repairs and parts replacements. The shuttle visit in the fall had left them with a good supply of spare parts, and all the tech manuals needed. But it still took them until the middle of May to get it ready. Once they got it up and going, it ran fine. Kylen tweaked McQueen about flying a target again; he responded by saying that while it was a target, he at least got to fly a little. Showing the children (whom of course they had brought along) the planet they lived on was a very enjoyable experience. They were just old enough to appreciate it. The twins at 3 appeared to be going to be as precocious as Joshua had been; speaking well and starting to read and write legibly. Joshua, 4 (4 and a half, as he kept reminding everyone) was turning into a very responsible young boy. Kylen and McQueen had no worries about leaving him to take care of the twins for hours or even most of a day. They still felt that he was not up to looking after them for a whole day and night, despite his claims to the contrary. Besides, he was just not big enough to handle taking care of the animals, even during the summer when they were out.

They took 6 hours to scan the planet, and found one area that looked very promising. Landing there, almost a third of the way around the planet, they found tar pits and pools of crude oil either on the surface or just under it. Taking some samples, and filling some larger containers with enough to experiment on and actually help out if it worked, the were up and back home in 2 hrs. In between his normal chores, McQueen experimented with the crude oil for the next 2 weeks; and was able to refine it down to a point where they felt that with the addition of ethanol, they could fuel the vehicles. The ethanol process took a little longer, since they had to grind up the corn to process it; and Kylen was grinding wheat for bread at the same time. They had made a grinder out of rocks and stones, and it was powered by Bessie walking and turning a wheel. Kylen did not want to mix corn in until she was finished with the wheat. By July they had been able to substitute the new fuel for the stored fuel, and the vehicles seemed to tolerate it well enough. McQueen decided to make one more run to the oil field, and fill up with enough to last them until the next summer.

With no building projects except for repairs and maintenance, and nothing outside of the fuel run, the summer past without any real events. Kylens pregnancy progressed well, and this time they were keeping an eye out for multiple babies. It turned out that this time Kylen was only having one child; and with the improved medical equipment they had they were able to find out that she was having a girl.

Anne was very happy at the thought of a baby sister; Joshua was unsure, and Sam was fairly sure that a younger brother would have been better. Anne made sure he regretted that.

The harvest went almost without a problem, though a extended period of rain late in August slowed up the getting the hay in. They had constructed two storage sheds besides the barn for storing the extra grain and hay; the cotton was taken up to the loft in order for it to dry quicker. Kylen had spent much of the summer carefully constructing the loom and other tools she would need to make cloth out of the raw cotton. McQueen had built a cotton gin; and a sewing machine had been included on the shuttle run. Picking the cotton turned out to be the hardest thing of all; they could not harvest it the way they did with the hay, corn and wheat. It took them the better part of a full week to pick the 10 acres, and it tore their hands up quite a bit in spite of the gloves they had made. But it all was worthwhile when Kylen finished the first clothes and being able to wear cotton underwear was quite a pleasant thing once again.

They had been able to make some blue, green and red dye; so the clothes had some color to them.

October found them getting the final preparations for winter completed; and also getting ready for their new baby girls birth.

The extra medical supplies and especially the medical texts were a great comfort to both Kylen and McQueen, who had always been very worried about complications. According to the books, Kylen should have a completely normal delivery. They had discovered that they had been very lucky indeed with the birth of the twins; usually they were much more complicated then their one had been. "Ignorance is sometimes bliss," Kylen had told McQueen after they had looked over the procedures and the expected problems of multiple births.

November 5th was the day Kylen went into labor, and apparently this baby was in a great deal of hurry. Only 4 hrs after the beginning of her labor, Kelly Lynn McQueen was born. McQueen had suggested Kelly, in remembrance of someone lost to the war and someone who had made an effort to get closer to McQueen. His vengeance had long since been extracted from Chiggy Von Ricktofen, but he still felt a debt to Kelly Winslow. He had been a little worried about telling Kylen the whole story after suggesting the name, but once again she had surprised him by agreeing immediately; besides, she pointed out, Kelly certainly had good taste in men. The other children were properly impressed by the new baby, especially her lung capacity. This was to be demonstrated repeatedly over the next few weeks, as unlike the children before her, Kelly had some troubles with colic. Though on occasion Sam asked if it was not possible to send Kelly back for another (for which Anne had suitably swatted him, even though she had a little sympathy for the idea), the children seemed to be very understanding, for which Kylen and McQueen were very grateful. This phase passed by Christmas, and they were thankful for that particular present.

This winter was not as hard as the last had been; and that helped with the need for Kylen to spend so much time taking care of Kelly. Having a newborn around did help the winter pass fairly quickly for all concerned. As spring approached, plans and preparations went forward. McQueen had decided to make another oil run in the spring just after planting, and bring back enough for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Kylen was, in between taking care of Kelly, thinking hard about the coming wormhole opening. If the pattern held, it would open up that coming November. They had decided that if there were to be no more people coming, they would wait until the next opening before leaving. That would only be a year off, and in the meantime they would take the time and effort to shut things up, free the animals, and say goodbye to their world. Also, Kylen had decided to have here father check up on farms in the vicinity, and McQueen would ask Glenn Ross to check up on other colony worlds. Kylen was not too sure about that, since there were no colony worlds that came close to Catonius 3, and starting over from scratch in a much tougher place did not exactly appeal to her. Between the settlement Aerotech before its dissolution had been forced to make, and McQueen's back pay, they would not have any financial worries. That was why Kylen had wanted her father to check on available farms. Somewhere in either New England or the Northeast would be virtually the same weather and conditions as Catonius 3, if not as lush.

Frank Celina was eagerly waiting his visitor at the farm. The knowledge that the wormhole would be opening up in less then 6 months was a constant prod to him. Kylens request to check up on farms that could be had if they had to leave Catonius 3 had kept him busy for a while after he had gotten the request; they could indeed find one if they wanted. But Frank Celina knew his daughter well, and he realized she did not want to leave. As much as he would have loved to have her and her family nearby, he knew she would much rather stay where she was, and he had done his best to see about that. There had indeed been a fair amount of interest in colonizing Catonius 3, though such plans usually needed more then 2 years to bear fruit. However, with the much more detailed survey the shuttles had done before they left, and the first hand accounts from Kylen and McQueen, had aroused more interest faster then he had thought likely. The financial part was of course the hardest thing to get put together. It cost a great deal of money to colonize a planet, and since this time there was no aerotech with a hidden agenda to foot the bill, it was going to be very hard to do. The government would not put much into it, though they had agreed to transport the colonists and supplies. The colonists had not been the difficult part to locate, but the supplies and who would come up with the money was another story. That is why this visitor was so important; a way around the money part may just be at hand.

Rear Admiral Glen Ross, USN (ret) figured the Celina farm would look just about as he figured it would. Good sized, neat, well laid out and very efficient. He would have expected no less of Kylen Celina's family. His visit was not for recreation, but much more important. Ever since he had gotten Ty's request to help out with finding people to move to Catonius 3, and trying to get it going, he had been very busy. He had debated putting off his retirement, but two things had decided him: the Navy was going to mothball the Saratoga, and though it had been more then 5 years since he had commanded her, it was still something he had not wanted to see. She had been his ship for 7 years, and his flagship for 4 more. He had even been able to retain command for 6 months after getting his Admirals flag due to a hitch in getting a replacement. He really did not want to stay in a fleet that no longer had the Sara in it. Besides, his mandatory retirement was only 5 years off; due to the rigors of space flight, you had to either accept permanent ground duty or retire at age 55 any more. There was no way that Glen Ross would take a desk job, so he would have been out anyway. Then he had realized that being on active duty hampered him in helping Ty out; too many regs and other bureaucratic BS to wade through.

He had been able to, with General Radfords help, arrange for the Navy to transport any colonists and their supplies and equipment to Catonius 3. It would be the Sara's last mission. He had at first been a little affronted at turning the Sara into a glorified moving truck, but then he had realized that her last mission would be one that built, and did not destroy. That had made him feel better about it. Her immense size would mean plenty of room for anything any colony would need, and her shuttles could transport it. They would have no problem making it all in one flight. Since it would be a one way flight for the shuttles (they would be used as shelter first, very necessary since they would be landing in that planets Northern Hemisphere's winter ( settling down in a known area, with the McQueen farm to help out, made too much sense to think about going to the Southern Hemisphere, where it would be spring).Even in the hard winter that followed, they could still do quite a bit to get ready. Figuring out exactly where each family would go, etc could not be decided before hand; as detailed as the scans and info was, they would still need time and exploration to decide sites and such. The first group would probably only be about 100 or so anyway; the next group would be the big one- over a 1000 if things worked out. And they would only have a year to wait until the next wormhole. The first group would not only start on their farms, etc; but would be figuring out where the next large group would go. And make preliminary preparations.

Frank Celina welcomed his son in laws (while not technically true, that was one of the things that would be taken care of when the shuttles arrived for the next wormhole) former commander and friend. And someone who had been working very hard to see that his daughter and son in law got what they wanted.

"Well, things went better then we could have hoped; we now have all the financial problems solved."

was the first thing that Ross said after he sat down in the study and took the beer Frank handed him.

"Who is picking up the tab?" asked Frank. "Total surprise to me; but General Assembly President Diane Hyland has told me that the UN will foot the bill; that means no private company or banks or any of that is needed." Frank Celina sat back and thought about it. Kylen had given him the whole story on Diane Hyland's trip on the Saratoga, and all that had gone on. Some of it she had gotten from McQueen, the rest from Nathan. He looked at Ross. "What do you think." Ross grimaced for a moment, then sighed. "I think this is a partial repayment for all the crap the 58th went through, and also since the UN has made it a point of supporting colonization of space, a PR move for her as well. Its not like it will cost that much anyway; at least for the UN. Since the US is already supplying the Sara and the shuttles, it would have made the UN look like pikers if they had not stepped up. So the bill for the first 100 is already taken care of, and the next 1000 as well. We still have not firmed up who the 1000 will be- we have 5 times as many applications as we do slots. Looks like a third trip will be necessary." Frank smiled. "That is as good a bit of news as I could have asked for." Ross gave him a look. " I know; having my daughter that far away, and probably never getting to visit her is not something I really want; but what is important is what she wants." Ross smiled at him."about the Visiting part; it should not be that hard to arrange passage for you at the next wormhole; that would mean you would have less then a year to be away from the rest of your family and the farm." Frank nodded slowly. "I want to do that; I need to do that." Ross nodded. "Then you will." Ross looked thoughtful for a moment. "You have heard about the new hyper drive, haven't you?" Frank looked at him and shrugged. " A little- I know that Sewel fuel is what will propel it; that has bad memories for me and my family." Ross grimaced. "For a lot of people that is a bad memory. Nevertheless, it will be a huge advance over anything we or the chigs have come up with. True faster then light travel at a rate 25 times faster then anything else we have even dreamed of. If it comes true, the 300 light years to Catonius would take only 8 months. Now that is still a long journey, but if Catonius is as rich and successful as I think it will be, not to mention the other planets in the system and its asteroid belt we know is chock full of just about everything; including the 5th planet that while it has no atmosphere, we think it might have Sewel Fuel." Frank's eyes widened at that. "this has been kept pretty quiet, and its not been confirmed, but on the way out of the system one of the shuttles was scanning that planet and its readings looked exactly like Tellis and Kasbeck, the only two other sources of Sewel Fuel. And both of them really do not have all that much. That was a big part of the reason we were able to get permission to use the Sara; one of the shuttles will be visiting that planet to make sure it has Sewel Fuel. If it does, then it guarantees that colonization of that system will happen, and happen fast. " Frank shook his head. "That could also guarantee a lot of activity that would not be all that great for the colonies. Greed is never a good thing when you are looking at something like that."

Ross nodded. "I know- but we are in some ways more fortunate now. For starters, there is no Aerotech to get their claws into it; second since the system is already settled, and the US has claimed it, there will be no problems there." Frank looked at him in surprise."When was it claimed? I had not heard about it."

Ross chuckled. "General Radford brought it up- since US citizens were already settled in the system, and no one else had done anything, then by default the US Government already had a claim. Ty and Kylen were US Government employees; on official duty when it all happened. And Ty had quietly put in a claim for the planet on the reply last time. Technically he cannot claim a whole planet as a US Government employee, but he at the same time handed in his retirement papers; and they were dated one day before his claim. The US Government has title to the system; but TY and Kylen have title to the planet- since they had been living there and settled for 5 years. The President put a quiet request into congress, and they passed it just as quietly. They made a deal with Hyland; who then put it through the GA. Its official and recognized. The US agrees to cut the UN in on profits from the system, which will be pretty good in time anyway, and if there is Sewel Fuel in any amount on that planet, it will be huge. The UN will be really financed outside of the Earth Governments for the first time. Something they have always wanted, and now they have got." Frank's look of amazement made Ross laugh. "Yep- your daughter and Ty own a planet; free and clear. Not going to be hard to see who the first Governor will be, does it?. Though I can imagine Ty's reaction; he hates paperwork and that will have a lot of it. But I am going to see if he doesn't mind someone else taking it for a while." Frank looked at him in surprise, then comprehension. "So Elaine has decided?" Ross nodded. "She likes the idea, and she knows we will be able on occasion to get back and see the kids and grandkids. Especially if the new hyper drive works. She always wanted to live on a farm anyway. Now she gets to help build one."

Kylen and McQueen awaited the wormhole with tremendous anticipation. It was the beginning of November and they had made all the preparations they could. The crops were in, the animals were in, the yearly routine was completed. Kelly had just turned 1, and the twins were just about to turn 4, and Joshua was 5 and a half as he always said at this time of year. They had the relay from the shuttle set up in the living room (an expansion was in the cards soon- the coming year if they were staying. Joshua wanted a room of his own- and while the loft was a thought it was just too low for anyone but small children. The twins were up there now with Kelly just having graduated from her parents room, so Joshua had Kylens old room; but in a few years they would need a couple more. The question was to expand outward; or add a second story. There were pros and cons for both. Expansion outwards would be a lot easier; but where the barn was, and the green house, and the terrain, it would not be all that easy. Upwards would require taking the roof off and building upwards and that would be a lot of work as well; though it would make heating easier- no need to add more fireplaces and stoves. They were still undecided; and it might not be necessary anyway.

On November 24, the wormhole opened. Just outside its event horizon the Saratoga waited. The shuttles had already launched- sensors had picked up the beginning of the energy spike several hours earlier, so they were able to be ready to jump at a moments notice. Since the wormhole opened up right outside the Catonius system, there was no reason to send the Sara through. While faster then the shuttles, the time that the wormhole opened was still short for anyone that wanted to get in then out before it closed. It was just not worth getting the ship and its crew stranded it they had some kind of engine problem or the wormhole decided to close early.

Kylen's head snapped up as the buzzer sounded from the com relay unit. She rushed over to it, beating McQueen by a hair. "This is Kylen Celina of Catonius 3, do you read me, over?" she put out quickly.

A familiar voice came through. "This is shuttle one of the Catonius 3 colony group 1, we read you 5 by 5." McQueens eyes widened at who he was hearing. " Glen, is that you- what are you doing in the lead shuttle?" A laugh came back. " Elaine and I decided to give colonizing a try; its not just for the younguns, you know. There are 100 of us in the first group; there will be 1000 in the second; and the third might be as high as 5000. So we have a lot of work to do. Want to give us coordinates for the shuttles, Ty? Or should I say, Governor Ty?" another laugh from the com. Ty's eyes widened even more, while Kylen, suddenly suspicious, sent back."Governor Ty? What is that all about?" Ross came back" Well, since you guys claimed the planet and have lived there longer then the usual requirement for homesteading, technically you own the planet. Well, subject to the laws of the US, approved by the General Assembly, anyway. Though I could be wrong and it could be Governor Kylen- its for the two of you to decide, as co owners anyway." Ty sat down in amazement. Kylens eyes were wide and her jaw needed to be picked up off of the floor. Ty sat up and keyed the mike. "Here are the coordinates- they are quite close to us, so you won't have far to come. I know you have brought portable shelters and the like; but our first meeting will be in the barn. We should just be able to squeeze 100 people in there, if we put the animals out for a while. The weather is pretty good today, winter has not yet hit."

Kylen was shaking her head. "We own the planet? Six, what do you know about this?" McQueen was quiet for a moment. "Those papers I told you about as regards our homestead and everything?" She nodded. "I put us down as claiming the whole planet; I figured that while that would get shot down they would have a hard time not giving us deed, etc. We had been here 5 years. That was part of the reason I claimed the planet; Glen put the word up the line that we claimed (the US) the system. US citizens had settled if. And since at the time we came here we were US government employees on official business, it was all connected. As for owning the whole planet, something must have gone through congress, maybe the General Assembly for that to happen. I guess we are very rich now. Though there are also responsibilities and probably a lot of headaches as well." He then looked at her with his small smile."So which of us is going to be the Governor?"

Ross stepped out of the shuttle, took a deep breath, and turned around to look at the scenery. The trees and other plants looked pretty normal, the grass while not very green was not brown, which for being almost in winter was pretty good. He looked up as the other shuttles slowly came down. The second one down was the one that would be returning with messages from Kylen and Ty and more data and info on the planet and its weather, and other things. He started walking towards the sod roofed farmhouse, with the large sod roofed barn right next to it. It still amazed him that Ty McQueen was a farmer; and what looked like a very good one, as well. Other shuttles were landing. It was decided that they would give it a little time before everyone started staking out their land; Elaine was looking around wide eyed; she had never even been off earth, so this was a totally new experience. He saw Ty and Kylen and the kids… oh boy, another one, as he saw the toddler that Kylen was carrying. The other three had certainly grown like the proverbial weeds. He heard Elaine gush as she walked up to Kylen and gave her a hug. They had met when Elaine had gone up to Washington for a meeting of the wives of sailors group she was a part of. Then she took the little one in her arms and began the age old googly thing all women do with small children and babies. Ty walked up to him and dropped the handshake for a big hug. Then he said"OK, now for the details on this planet that Kylen and I apparently own." Ross grinned at him. "Plenty of time for that; lets get everyone inside and in the meantime we need to get the data discs and messages to the shuttle that's returning. I hope you got a lot of data; the next group coming it will need it." McQueen handed him a packet of discs "We did a full scale, slo scan of the entire planet last year. Here is the info." Ross took them, looked at them for a minute, then handed them to the Lt standing at his right. "Ok, Williams, here it all is. Hop in your shuttle and get a move on unless you want to spend the next year and a half here." The Lt smiled, saluted, then trotted off. Ross looked at him walk away, then at McQueen. "He is going to do a more detailed scan of the 5th planet; it looked on its first scan to be a twin to Tellis and Kasback. They have some special equipment that should settle that question. If it's a positive, then a lot of things will change. If it's a negative, then things will be slower but still active. I find myself kind of hoping its negative." McQueen right away understood what Ross was NOT saying. And shook his own head. "I agree. I hope its negative as well."

The barn was packed to the rafters. But it was warm with both the stoves merrily smoking away through the small stove pipes going through the walls. McQueen stood with Kylen and the kids next to the main doors, which had just been closed. They all heard the messenger shuttle take off. Some in there looked at each other, clearly confronting the reality that they were here for at least 18 months no matter what.

Ross stepped forward. "OK everyone listen up. As you all know, this colony is going to be different then any before. For one, neither the government, any government, is very much involved. And no major corporation like Aerotech is involved." Some actual hisses at that name came from the crowd, then a low murmur of approval. Ross continued. "So we will be making it up as we go along. Due to a somewhat strange set of circumstances, this planet is OWNED, and I do mean OWNED, by Tyrus McQueen and Kylen Celina. They settled it, and have lived here alone for more then 7 years. Under a special act of Congress, signed by the President, and recognized by the General Assembly, this is absolutely legal and ratified. The rest of the system is owned by the US, a claim that was put in 2 years ago and approved by the same act. While owned by private individuals, this is still recognized as US territory and will be governed by US law. Now as regards the government part; it is at this time unincorporated land. No cities or towns, etc. How that is changed is up to us, all of us. Now Ty and Kylen have been working on the assumption that all of you would be staying in the immediate area.

If anyone is looking at moving more then 10 or so miles away, we need to know right away so we can look at the maps. As homesteaders, the rules are set forth under federal law, but since the land is privately owned then Kylen and Ty have to sign off on all claims. They have already made it clear that that is a mere formality; they will be basically operating as the county clerks due in regards to titles and deeds and such; make sure that none of them conflict with any other. The actual size of each claim will be up to the individual. 160 acres is the smallest; there is no limit on the largest, outside of Ty and Kylen; they might want to just to keep a few from gobbling up too much of the good land. That should not really be a problem, mainly because there is so much good land. Also- the next 1000 that will be coming in 18 months- we have their initial requests and we will need to do some preliminary work there.

Now Kylen is going to lay out a detailed map of the whole immediate area; they have maps of each square mile ready to go. Each group will come forward and show on this big map generally where they want to be. The map will be marked and then you will get a smaller scale map of that area. The line you see in red that borders the immediate area is where we would like you to stop. We are talking more then 40 square miles here, so there is plenty of room." McQueen stepped forward. " Kylen and I had no idea that we would end up as owning the whole planet. The idea behind claiming it was so that we would have a starting point that we could negotiate back from. We had absolutely no clue at all that we would end up with the whole planet; and that is not something we really wanted anyway. So we will be giving lots of land away in order to get rid of the responsibility. The only parts we are not giving away is the one open tar pits and oil field on the planet. We will be keeping that as our ace in the hole if we ever need to horse trade. That and the highest mountain. Kylen wants to keep that for some reason. Anyway, so rest assured that we are not going to be some great land barons and try and become king and queen or something. Those positions are no fun and involve way too much paperwork." A general quiet laugh came around the building. Kylen then moved up. Holding Kelly, she introduced the children. Then she looked around at all the people, including the ones that were sitting in the loft. "Starting tomorrow Ty and I will be hosting all of the groups for supper one at a time. I need the name number of each group. Tomorrow we will draw the names out and in that order the visits will come. We want to get to know all of you right away; we will all come to know each other well, no doubt, but lets get it started right away. We will give an info packet with each small scale map. So lets get started."

Ross was sitting in Kylens and McQueens living room/dining room/office. He and Elaine were relaxing after what had to be one of the best meals they had ever eaten. Kylen was a very good cook, though she pointed out that the meat was done by McQueen. She had shooed Elaine away, telling her that guests do not cook in her house. Looking around the small house, which actually was not really that small, probably about 40' square, with a loft that the younger kids used. Double log walls, with earth in between according to McQueen, which meant great insulation (and very difficult to penetrate with bullets or much of anything else short of HE.) The windows were actually pretty clear, considering that they were made by rank amateurs according to McQueen. They had been lucky in having a detailed text on how to make glass as part of the original shuttle cargo, but it still was pretty good. The wooden floor was quite smooth and well polished; it was covered by what appeared to be animal hides. the furniture was very solid and simple. They had electric lights that ran off of solar cells and small wind powered generators, but they had some home built lamps handy. The roof he had seen was sod, but quite peaked. McQueen had explained the peak was needed due to the large amount of snowfall they got each winter. The grass was very thick and they made a point of keeping it well watered. they had re sodded it two years ago with better grass and then put glass over the wood base; that way even the greatest of wet weather would not penetrate. The pieces of sod were over 8" thick, and weighed quite a lot; but they had used very heavy beams so that was not a problem. They just had to watch out to make sure that trees or big bushes did not grow as the roots might try and find a way through the seams of the glass. The bathroom was a marvel of ingenuity; the tub a surprising feature, and the flush toilet a marvel of simplicity. The old top tank sort, kept filled by a windmill that pumped water from the nearby stream. It had never frozen, much to their amazement, and they had no idea why. A small tank was set up over the tub, and it was a hot water tank heated by a small stove; also very ingenious. They had lucked out and found a small cavern just 50 feet from the cabin; it was big enough to use as a septic tank. The kitchen had own very utilitarian stove and oven; and a heavy, thick glass sink. McQueen had cannibalized parts from their shuttle to work as faucets for the kitchen sink. they got water from a tank in the loft that was kept filled by the windmill. One line led through the stove and they had improvised a hot water heater that way for doing the dishes. The plates were heavy and thick; Kylen had explained that they were her creations, and that mainly all she cared was that they were smooth, flat and tough and hard to break. the knives and forks were heavy stainless steel also from the shuttle turned out by McQueen on a small lathe, and hammered out on a small anvil. The glasses were also heavy and strong.

Ross was frankly amazed at how much they had accomplished. They really seemed to lack nothing, at least nothing that mattered. He watched as Kylen stopped by where McQueen was sitting with their youngest on his lap. She put her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear; he got a smile on his face that Ross had never seen before, and he reached up and covered her hand with his and whispered something back that put quite a smile on Kylens face, as well as making her blush, if his eyes were not deceiving him. Seeing Ty that relaxed, and that happy, made Ross very happy. No one deserved it more then he did. seeing them together, it seemed natural and right, as if they always had, and always would be together. Ross looked over at Elaine, who was sitting with the twins on what passed as a sofa ( it was basically a bench with a back and heavy hides, with what Kylen had explained were rabbit fur stuffed pillows that she had made just this last year with the cotton they had grown. Easy chairs they had made were very utilitarian but fairly comfortable. They had found a plant greatly like earth tea leaves and found that it made pretty decent tea. McQueen explained that they had not planted the coffee beans that they had gotten from the last shuttle mainly because they liked the tea so much. But they had planted it in the house attached green house and it was ready to try and they would be making some in the next few days. The meal of what was this planets version of prime steak, potatoes, green beans, and some wine that were McQueens work- and not bad. He also brewed some beer that he had promised they would try out later. The bread was thick and heavy and clearly baked just that day, and for desert then brought out their version of blueberry pie that tasted pretty good as well. Kylen told them that it had taken her months to figure out how to bake in the oven, and how to work the dough and everything else.

Kylen sat down next to McQueen and picked up their youngest- Kelly and placed her on her lap; she was almost asleep anyway. When McQueen had first mentioned her name, Ross had looked at him and he had nodded. Here was a living memorial for Kelly Winslow, added to the head of Chiggy Von Ricktofen that Ty had already hung on the wall. Kylen looked at him and said. "OK, now with the explanation of how Ty and I are now proud owners of one slightly used planet." And she fixed him with a look that said all details. Ross shrugged. "Basically it was a deal with Diane Hyland. The US gets the system if 40% of all profits are funneled to the UN. As rich as this system is, there will be quite a bit in a few years or so. Especially if we find Sewel Fuel on #5. I got the signal from the shuttle on its way out after they passed five and gave it a thorough scan with some special scanners. They appeared to pick up strong readings. Odds are that #5 has the richest load of Sewel Fuel yet found. The UN has always been subsidized by the worlds governments; that is about to change. That will also increase its power and reach. This planet was a cheap price to pay for that. And by making it a private planet, while still subject to US law, will allow a lot of flexibility down the road. You two and your children and grandchildren and so on into perpetuity will have what is basically Royal Oversight and authority for the land on this planet. More then likely you will be wealthier then any other single family in history. Of course the responsibility is nothing to sneeze at as well." Kylen and McQueen looked at each other, dazed.

Then Kylen looked at Ross. "We talked about something. As regards this governor thing. Neither one of us wants it, and frankly we will not have time to do it. So here is our first Royal Decree." she stopped and looked at McQueen. He got this very small smile on his face and looked at Ross. "Congratulations, GOVERNOR."

Elaine almost spit up her tea, she was laughing so hard. "Glen Ross, I told you that is what they would do. You try and toss Ty and Kylen a hot potato and you will find it coming right back at you with interest. Congratulations, GOVERNOR. " Kylen reached over and handed Ross a piece of paper.

It was a typical computer printed paper- except that there were some fancy lines on top and bottom, and it was titled. "BY Royal Decree: BE it so known that from this day forward the Governor of Catonius 3 is Glen Thomas Ross. dated_____" And at the bottom was Kylen and Ty's signature. McQueen was definitely smirking. "There. All nice and official. Congratulations, GOVERNOR."

Ross shook his head. "I guess I had this coming. And actually, I figured you would do this. I guess some would call this a promotion. I wonder. " And they all laughed.

Ross then decided to bring something else up. "By the way, we happen to have a Minister with us. One of the families is a Baptist minister. So if you two want to make it official then any time you are ready. All you have to do is certify the minister as being authorized to do it." Kylen looked at McQueen and smiled, which was returned. Then McQueen smirked again. "Actually, GOVERNOR, that is your job; to certify people." And they all laughed again.

The next day it was decided to have the Minister and his family over as the first ones for the dinner mentioned by Kylen the previous evening. The word of Ross's appointment as governor had already gone the rounds (Ross was pretty sure that Elaine was the source)and he had been greeted with a fair amount of snickering and so-called congratulations. People were looking around the farm and taking notes. Many of the comments Ross overheard were about how incredible it was that only two people had been able to do so much in only 7 years. And also just how lush and rich the land was, even at the beginning of winter. Interestingly, only 5 families had decided to locate at any distance from the farm; the greatest distance was only 5 miles away. One family had sighted a hill with a large number of huge trees spread around and had decided that that was the place. A great view is how they described the choice. After them, the farthest away was 3 miles. Only 5 families were farther then one mile away. Kylen had shown on the map that the farm was approx 300 acres as they had claimed formerly. And most of that was fields and land around the stream. They were pretty close to the low hills surrounding the valley they were in. So no one could claim between them and the stream, and them and the hill, which they had decided would be part of a park one day. That had already been reserved. The other families- and this was one thing Ross had insisted upon for the first settlers, that they would consist of families; no single men or women. Acting basically on Kylens and McQueens behalf Ross had put his foot down on that. Since he had been named as their agent on the claim papers, he had been able to make it stick. He had personally interviewed all of the 27 families that had come. Only 6 of the families had no children; all young couples just starting out. The biggest was 7; mother, father, 3 boys and 2 girls, all under the age of 14. All the rest had 2-4 children. All the children were 14 or under. 44 Children, mostly 5-9 years old, with 8 10-14. It was a good mix. Only Kylens and McQueens 3 youngest were younger then any others.

Since winter was starting to make itself felt, the amount of work that could be done was not great. Land could be cleared, trees felled and left to weather for use in the spring. But it was also decided to use a number of the logs that McQueen had felled that year to build a community building. Using all hands, the portable sawmill that they had brought, along with its steam engine(it had been decided to go old fashioned on things like that, since they were easy to repair and would not require any fancy parts.) made quick work on the logs, making a great number of wooden planks. the building was put up in 3 days. 60' long and 40' wide, it was certainly big enough for all to gather in. With something like this in mind, one of the shuttles had a large roll of heavy gage plastic, that was just big enough to make a roof out of. McQueen donated one of the stoves from the barn, and a spare one that he had kept around just in case. They had some extra glass, just enough to make two 4' by 4' windows in the sides. All in all, it was not bad. It was a place for all to go to, when they had enough of being cramped in the shuttles. Portable shelters had been rigged outside each shuttle, so there was enough room, but all were eager to start on their homes. 6 days a week, Kylen and McQueen invited a family over for dinner. This allowed them to get to know the settlers, and it also allowed the settlers to get to know them and their family. the community gradually grew closer. On Christmas day, all gathered in the town hall for a service by the Baptist minister, and to see Kylen and McQueen get married (though by US law they had been married for over 5 years as common law marrieds.) Kylen had been startled to find out that she was actually getting a little nervous. Come on woman, you have been living with him for over 7 years, have four children with him, what is there to get nervous about. Talking to Elaine, who was of course her matron of honor (Anne and Kelly were her flower girls, naturally.), she confessed she could not figure out why she should be nervous. "I know this man better then anyone else I have ever known, even my father and Nathan; we have four children, and we have been living as man and wife for over 6 years. What is there to be nervous about?" Brushing Kylens hair, Elaine clucked, comforting her. "Honey, it does not matter how long you have been living together. This makes it OFFICIAL. Any bride will always be nervous. And so is Ty."

Meanwhile, Ross, as the best man, and Joshua as the ring bearer, were trying to keep McQueen calm. Ross had never seen him this nervous, and this showed him how close they were. Joshua had never seen his father act like this, and it scared him a little. McQueen saw this, and that more then anything calmed him down. "Joshua. I have loved your mother from early on when we landed here. the evening she told me she wanted to start a family was the best moment of my life until I held you. Its kind of stupid for me to be nervous, but I guess all men get nervous on the day they get married. " Ross chimed right in. "I know I was nervous the day I married Elaine, and I had known her for years. Its just the way things are. When the day comes you get married, you will be nervous as well" Revolted, Joshua vowed he would never get married. Ross and McQueen looked at each other and smiled.

McQueen stood there, in his dress uniform that Ross had brought with him. Ross was in his dress uniform as well. Joshua was in robes like a choir boy, which he detested but held still for. They watched as Kylen came down the aisle in a simple white dress she had sewn and finished just the week before. McQueen almost gasped; she had never looked more beautiful. Here she came, his bad penny, his angel, his Kylen. He remembered back to the first time he had seen her, in the shuttle heading towards the hospital ship, even then, battered hands and thin and in a simple overall, she had been beautiful. She had fought for him and protected him as if he was one of her own, and now he was about to be all hers; and she was about to be all his, once and forever, in the sight of man and god.

Kylen looked down the aisle as she followed the girls and Elaine, and there he was, in that gorgeous US Marine Corps Dress Blues. Not quite as fancy as he had been at the White House dinner, he did not have the Cape this time, but he had a sword, and everything else, and he had never looked more handsome. He had been there for her when the truth about what happened at Tellis dawned on her, and she had needed him that night to keep the black depths of depression and rage from claiming her. Now he was about to be hers, now and forever, in the sight of man and god.

The Minister was friendly, gentle man of 50, who had become a minister only after serving in the AI war as a soldier, and only then had felt the call. He had felt that this new colony needed him, and he had felt restricted and hemmed in where he was in Boston. He had seen the news about Catonius 3, and had immediately gone down to see Frank Celina to inquire if they were going to settle it. He had told him that they would try. And that he would be first on the list. And now here he was, 300 light years away form earth, but performing that duty which he loved more then all the others.

Kylen was holding McQueens hand tightly as he slipped the small gold band on her finger. Ross had bought it when he was on earth for just this purpose, just as McQueen had requested him to. McQueen just had never expected him to deliver it in person, and be standing with him, but he was very glad he was. Then he kissed her, and they turned as the Minister pronounced them man and wife, by the authority of the US Government, and the Governor of Catonius 3, Glen Ross.

Children were staying with Glen and Elaine at their shuttle for the night to give Kylen and Ty some time alone. The children were looking upon this as an adventure, almost like camping out. It was cold and wet outside, but snow had not yet fallen, as Ty lifted Kylen up into his arms and carried her out of the hall and down the trail to the farm, about a quarter mile away. Kylen protested that she was too heavy for him to carry her all that way. He ignored her. Then she whispered in his ear that she had plans for him and they did not include him being too tired to carry them out. That just made him walk faster. In no time at all they were in their log home, quiet as it had not been since the first baby. McQueen carried here into their room and laid her on the bed. Then he stepped back and slowly removed his clothes. Only when he was naked did he move to remove hers, which took considerably less time. Only her shoes, panties, slip and dress covered her, and then they didn't. He stood back and drank in the sight of his new wife, naked and aroused and ready for him. Looking almost exactly as she had that night almost 6 years earlier. A slight bulge in her stomach, a mark of her three pregnancies; and her fuller breasts, due to the four children she had nursed. But nothing else had changed from that 26 year old woman and the 32 year old woman he now beheld. Then he could hold back no longer and swooped down on her, to her great delight.

The next morning, as he held his slumbering Kylen, McQueen thanked god for his wealth: his children, the farm, the friends he had and the ones he was building, but most of all he thanked god for this young woman sleeping in his arms.

The winter took its time but it did pass. By March, it was starting to fade, and people started to get restless. Being cooped up in the temporary shelters got on everyone's nerves. There was only so much planning you could do, so many preparations you could make. A large number of trees had been felled and dragged to the various building sites. Since a home could be built much faster if you had several people working on it versus one or two, Ross had organized the building so that they were working on 4 homes at the same time, the order being done by drawing lots. This way you had almost a dozen people working on each house. The sawmill had been established so as to be in as much a central position as possible; all logs brought there to be cut. Smaller table saws were put at each site. Thick plastic rolls were available for each pre designed home, so that roofing would not be a lot of work. The major building was for the power plant, which was wind driven. Each home would have solar cells and backup generators; in case of calm winds or heavy winds that would force the main ones to be locked down. Also, each home would have at least one stove and one fireplace. A small waste treatment facility was also being built, so that septic tanks would not be needed. A water tower as well, to pump the water so as to not need wells. Foundations were dug, then enough gravel and other material had been gathered for strong bases. Spring planting would not begin until April, so the preliminary work of the community projects was first. With the same 4 teams working, they got the windmill/power plant, water tower, and waste treatment built and ready to go. Laying the pipes and wire would come later. Starting the second week in April, plowing and planting started and lasted until the first week in May. With several tractors and lots of labor by all including the children, all crops were in the ground. Then the home building began, and that would last until the end of June. Then they worked on the pipes, wiring and everything else.

Kylen and McQueen were out every day helping their new neighbors. Since all they had to do was plow and plant and let the animals out, their work took very little time. During days of rain when building had to stop, it was decided that rounding up more animals and gathering materials like sand for glass, and making trips to the oil site to gather more crude for processing were accomplished. A couple of large corrals on unclaimed land had been constructed to hold the animals. Covered sheds were quickly built to hold sand and other materials collected. Other buildings were constructed for the processing of various items such as hides from animals, making glass, etc. A church was also going to be built, next to the ministers home.

By August, most of the work was done. All available pipe and wire had been laid, and all the homes now had running water, electricity, and sewer service. The treatment facility was the last done, and then they built the processing buildings, and the Church. Corrals for all the animals had been built, and then the barns were started. That took until the second week in September, by which time the harvesting had to be done. The weather held long enough to store all the crops, then rained for almost a week. It was a good thing that they had laid out good drainage, as it was needed. There was still a lot of work to be done inside, but all agreed that could wait until winter in order to give people something to do. Now that the community was built, McQueen, Kylen and Ross agreed that they needed to start preparations for the larger group that was coming in only a little over 6 months. It was a good thing that this group was coming in spring, as work would need to start right away. A small refinery had gotten running in order to process the crude, and the glass factory was also producing well. A steel furnace was being built some distance away, on the other side of the hills. That is where the heavy industry and all other businesses would be placed; the town, New Hope, would not allow any heavy or polluting industry in the city limits, which had been extended to encompass the hills. The small refinery would be closed down once they got a bigger one going, which would be coming with the next group. Heavy freighters would accompany the next wave, and that would also bring most of the equipment and supplies needed for the third group. A school had been started; the outer part built but unfinished. That would be the elementary school; the combination jr/sr high would be built next year. City hall was started as well.

Ross and Elaine had decided to build a house next to the farm, and since it was clear that Ross was going to have a full time job as Governor, they had decided not to try and build a farm. A garden, a green house, and some sheds and such would be all they needed. McQueen had not realized how much he missed talking and discussing things with Ross until they started again. The first combination bar/restaurant was a side project of several different families, which would be operated as a community business. Any other businesses would wait until next year. The town and community buildings had all been built off to the south of the hills, so that there would be plenty of room for expansion. The farms and homes would be going to the east and west, spreading out as they got beyond the hills.

The last things accomplished before winter set in was a massive clearing campaign where the next large group of homes/farms would be going. Trees were cut, then left to weather over the winter. A source of iron ore and coal had been located only 10 miles away; some work had been started there, but nothing had yet been mined. A road had been roughed out. The glass factory was run by people in shifts to ensure that plenty was available for the next year. A large building (100' by 100') had been built to use as a place to make furniture, cut wood, make doors and windows and such. A smaller one had been built and a kiln created to start producing pottery, although many used plastic instead. Much of that work would be done over the winter.

Everyone was glad to sit back and relax once the winter set in. The non stop working of the last 7 months had been exhausting. Luckily there had been no serious accidents or sicknesses. The small clinic and the one doctor they had had not had too much to do, much to his delight. He was one of the main operators of the bar/restaurant. Though he would be needed that winter as there were seven women pregnant by October, with the first due in April. People now concentrated on their own homes, improving them and taking care of the little things and details.

Kylen and McQueen had been glad to see the winter as well, so as to have some time to themselves and the children. Kylen after a lot of thought had decided that she probably would not have any more children. This saddened her some, but 4 were enough as far as she was concerned. McQueen was quite content as well, so he was happy that she was not going to have to go through that again. Joshua was now 6, the twins were coming up on 5, and Kelly was pushing 3. Kylen sometimes missed being on their own, for the peace and quiet if nothing else. McQueen felt the same way, though he was glad to have Glenn to talk to. Elaine and Kylen had grown close, and several of the young pregnant women had also gotten close to Kylen.

The winter passed quickly for most, with the improvements on their homes and such to keep them busy; that and removing the snow that piled up most impressively. There were only a few roads that needed to be kept open, but doing that with tractors and ATV's with blades and snow blowers was not easy. Luckily, since there were no cars or larger vehicles, not much was needed in the way of paths, etc.

Heavy plows would be another of the items coming with the next group.

As April started to get closer, everyone started to ramp up to be ready for the flood of people coming. Plans had been discussed, refined and then re defined over many meetings over the winter. A large landing zone had been cleared just past where the Town currently ended. All the shuttles had been move over the hill next to the steel mill and blast furnace, which had been started up in March. As soon as the snow stopped falling, a concerted effort had resulted in enough coal and iron ore being strip mined for the furnace to begin operating. Having that up and running was a must for while there would be quite a lot of material coming on the freighters, steel was heavy and took up a lot of space, so not all that much would be coming. Pipes and structural members and siding and other building items would be very much needed. Roofing materials would be coming on the ships, since it would take more time to start that up on the planet. The saw mill and furniture factory had been running all winter, turning out many of the items needed for homes and barns and such. Also coming on the ships would be a full refinery, as well as other machinery and equipment needed to make other equipment. A steam power plant would be coming as well, in order to power the industry. The steel mill would require a great deal of electricity.

Several hundred homes, and over a hundred barns and other buildings would be needed, dwarfing the previous years building effort. Then there were several stores and other businesses that were coming, as well as building the jr/sr high school and finishing the elementary school. Several other churches as well.

The day came as the wormhole opened- a satellite had been left so that the colonists on Catonius 3 would know right away. They all stood in the community hall and watched on the monitor as the ships came through. 5 big freighters. No shuttles this time; they would be using the colonies shuttles- enough pilots were coming to handle that. These freighters would be staying permanently- serving as the first ships that would start to develop the rest of the system. With the relay, no longer was it necessary to hand carry discs to communicate. Messages were sent and received from the carrier that was remaining outside the wormhole until it closed. The freighters, moving more slowly then the shuttles had, would not reach Catonius 3 until after the wormhole closed.

The first shuttle took off, with McQueen flying it. He would be bringing back the advance team that would start the process. And the other pilots that would fly the shuttles. Once he landed, Ross, as Governor, greeted the new arrivals. They were all taken into the community center to start going over plans. The shuttles were soon taking off and beginning the process of unloading the freighters, which would take over a week. Then the people would start to arrive. As McQueen landed in the bay of the lead freighter, he was startled by who he saw waiting for him. Once he landed, Ross, as Governor, greeted the new arrivals. They were all taken into the community center to start going over plans. The shuttles were soon taking off and beginning the process of unloading the freighters, which would take over a week. Then the people would start to arrive. Kylen was in the community hall, waiting for McQueen to arrive, when she saw a very familiar face walk through the door.

It turned out that there was very little that needed to be changed about the master plans; things had pretty much gone according to that plan, and only some tweaking was needed. The majority of the new arrivals would be starting farms and homes outside of New Hope, most at least half a mile away from the main settlement. The industrial area had already been identified, and all the heavy equipment for that was landed there. One of the most important items was a concrete mixing facility; heavy buildings and roads needed concrete. It was placed 5 miles to the south of New Hope, right next to a gravel pit. It would be able to provide all the concrete necessary. The power plant, due to be built right next to the steel mill, was the next major item unloaded, and would be the first major project finished. With it needed to power the mill and the concrete plant, not a whole lot could be done until they started operating. Building of homes and barns and such would take second place; though they would be worked on at the same time.

Fortunately, there was now a core of skilled labor for that at hand, with the people on the planet and the new colonists working together.

Kylen was watching from the front window (which they had installed just the last year- cutting through the side walls had been some work) at the hustle and bustle that was going on. While part of her missed the peace and quiet, she recognized that it was both inevitable and too be desired- if the colony was to be a success. Though there was really not much doubt now. It was July, and the power plant was up and running, and so was the steel mill and the concrete plant. Enough pre fab concrete had been brought along to build the power plant and the steel mill- the heavy rollers and other items for the mill had just been unloaded the week before. There was plenty of steel already to go; the mines had been going full blast since April. Almost half of the new homes were done, and the rest would be done by August. The barns and outbuildings would come later. Businesses were starting to go up, and the first bank had just opened. By the time winter set in, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that all the buildings would be done. The schools would be ready for their first students by September.

Kylen felt the hand on her shoulder and she turned to smile at the owner. "Daddy, don't tell me you got the kids to actually go to bed on time?" Frank Celina smiled at her and said. "It's a grandfather type secret on how that is done and generations have sworn me to secrecy." Kylen had been totally stunned when she saw her father; she did not think he would take a whole year and then some off from the farm and family to visit them. After her tears and hugs, he had told her that since it was only a little over 10 months to the next wormhole it was now or never. Since it would be a year and a half to the next one, 2 years to the next, and over 5 years to the next. Though the new hyper drive sounded promising, it would be several years before the first commercial ships were built. And most of the fuel would have to come from Catonius 5, which had turned out from the analysis of the last scan, to have the richest vein of Sewel Fuel ever located. So pressure to develop that source was heavy. One of the freighters, as a matter of fact, had most of its load ear marked for Catonius 5 to start the process of mining the ore. 100 technicians, miners, etc would be starting on that as soon as they unloaded here. The next wormhole would have a large convoy of ships to start the process in earnest. Hopefully by the time of the next long interval, ships would be coming, powered by Sewel fuel.

Frank Celina was very glad he had decided to come; seeing more of his grandchildren alone made it worth while; and seeing Kylen so happy and content made it all the more so. She and Ty had clearly been made for each other; it showed in virtually everything they did, together and separately. The children were brilliant and precocious, and very sweet and unspoiled. He had of course known of their ownership of the planet, but the true impact of that had hit him as he saw the world grow larger in the viewport of his cabin aboard the freighter. A whole planet; that would make them richer then anyone had ever been in history; he hoped that they would be able to cope with the looming implications of that.

Well, as least it would be quite a few years before the real impact hit. Looking around the new community that was daily expanding, he knew that this was going to be a very successful colony.

With soil as rich as this was, plus all the other resources, this first wave of immigrants would be just that- the first wave. Kylen, McQueen and Glen Ross had been discussing that very situation just the other night. How to keep the undesirables away would be a very difficult task. For the time being, it would not be hard to do; every one coming onto this planet would be known and could be checked out. But the days would come years down the line when the new hyper drive ships started to make their runs, when it would be a lot easier for the bad type to sneak onto the planet. One thing Kylen had insisted on was the signing of a contract with everyone owning land; they would be responsible for the care and well being of that land, and if they messed up, it would be forfeited back to the original owners. That would prevent the rampant spoilage and destruction of the environment, but it would be harder to keep the people part of the equation honest. It had been decided that there would be two types of people on this planet: residents and visitors. You had to be one or the other; there would be no subcategories or exceptions. Visitors would have one year to stay, or become a resident; or leave.

Kylen waved at the shuttle as it left; she hoped she would see her father again, but realistically she knew that it would probably not happen. Even if the new hyper ships made regular trips, which they probably would in 5 years or so, it would still take at least 6 months to travel to earth; which meant a minimum of over a year away to visit. She hoped that when he decided to retire he would make another trip; she doubted that they would ever leave Catonius 3; though that was possible. But realistically it would be hard to do that; and as more responsibilities dropped on them as owners of the planet, as the colony expanded, it would be harder and harder. If someone developed some kind of communication that traveled a lot faster, then it might be possible to leave for a long time; but that was about the best hope they had. She walked back to the farm, casually greeting people she passed. The colony was growing faster and faster; this last wave was the biggest yet, over 5000 people. She was glad that they would have more then a year and a half before the next group; they would need every minute to accommodate everyone and get things done. It was obvious that as word spread, more would want to come. And now with the mines on Catonius 5 up and running, mining the sewel fuel and other minerals found there, that Catonius 3 would become even more important as the place where it would be processed. Kylen, Ross and McQueen had made it clear that all refinery operations on the Sewel Fuel would take place a very good distance away from any settlements. The site chosen was over 1000 miles away; the contractors hired by the US Government to process the fuel had not been happy about that- but they had been left with no choice. And they had also been told that while they were under contract to the US Government, they operated on Catonius 3 on sufferance to the planetary owners; and they had better live up to all agreements or they would get the boot and another company would get the contract. The US Government had fully signed off on that, making that provision part of the contract. Kylen hoped that that would be enough. She smiled as she got close to the farm; she could see Anne at the window looking for her. Kylen never got over being amazed at her children; she had truly been blessed.

Of course, their father, her husband, former Col Tyrus Cassius McQueen, USMC, was at least partly responsible for it all. She would be glad when he got back from his hunting trip; she missed him whenever he was gone for more then a few hours. After almost 10 years of being together, it was in some ways still new to her. And she was so very glad.

McQueen mused on things as he headed up to the hunting cabin; the last time he had come up there Frank Celina was with him, and they had been able to bring Joshua along. With both himself and Frank, they had felt that they could take care of Joshua and hunt as well; but Kylen had agreed that with just him and Joshua, it was not a good idea. McQueen found that as time went by, it was harder and harder to leave Kylen and the kids; he had become a real homebody. He thought about the things he still waned to do, improvements on the farm. Their responsibilities as owners of the planet was slowly but surely growing, so finding time to just be by themselves was hard to come by. But they had time; all the time in the world, THEIR world.


End file.
